Falling Apart
by My Reason Why
Summary: "You were drunk Beck. We both were, it's not like you planned this. Neither of us planned this." "That's supposed to make it okay? That's supposed to make it better?" A Bori story with some Bade and bits of Tandre. :)
1. Confused

"Beck?" Tori asked as she stepped in front of him in the hall that day. He hadn't talked to her since they'd slept together. He'd said he was confused, that he was still unsure about his feelings due to his relationship with Jade, or lack of relationship Tori amended as she wiped her sweaty palms on her hands. It had been over a week since it happened and Beck couldn't avoid her any longer. She wouldn't let him. She _couldn't_ let him. Even though she was scared as hell she knew she had to tell him. "Beck please!" She exclaimed as he tried to side step her.

"Look, I've got to go to class right now Tori. Could we do this later?"

"Well we could, but you're probably just going to avoid me again so I don't think so." She replied and folded her arms over her chest. The last time she'd checked Beck was just as a willing participant in this as she was.

He sighed, "I'm not avoiding you!" He spread his arms wide and Tori felt anger bubble in her chest.

"You're not?" She asked sarcastically and stepped forward so that she was invading his personal space. "Because it sure as hell seems like you are. You've been running off every time I walk into a room and when you are stuck with me you ignore the shit out of me!"

"Okay Tori? Don't curse, it doesn't suit you."

"Stop changing the subject!" Tori shouted, her breathing erratic. She didn't mean to but she was hyperventilating and her eyes were filling with tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" Beck asked grabbing her by the arm. The look in his eyes was one she hadn't seen on him since they'd done it and it reminded her of how he was with her before.

"I wish we'd never had sex." She groaned with a shake of her head and Beck looked around in alarm.

"I thought we'd agreed to keep it quiet." He replied his eyes wide.

"No, you'd told me we were going to keep it quiet and I listened. Besides, its going to be hard to do that now."

"What do you mean?" He asked kindly.

"You know, you should stop switching your personality so fast, you're making me dizzy. And if you make me dizzy, I'm going to be sick."

"Charming." He replied with a smile and Tori shook her head.

Tears were spilling out of her eyes against her will and she wasn't sure whether she could do this any more. Beck was messing with her head and she knew she couldn't take it any longer. She needed to do this but she couldn't do it right now, if she tried she'd fall apart right now in the hallway.

"I gotta go." She choked out before she turned and ran into the girl's bathroom. She felt like she was going to be sick.. and she was.

* * *

Tori emerged from her stall 10 minutes later to find Beck waiting by the sink. "You can't be in here." She said as she washed her hands, "This is the girl's bathroom."

Beck sighed and pushed his hair back from his face. Tori knew he was trying to figure out what to say to her, she could see it in his face, so she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth giving him time to think up a sentence.

"I'm sorry." He managed when she was finished and Tori arched an eyebrow. Really? All she was going to get was an 'I'm sorry?'

"I'm sorry I was such an ass-hole." He said sensing she wanted him to continue, "I'm sorry if I hurt you by acting the way I did, but I'm just confused. I've been in a relationship with Jade for most of my life, you know? I thought I was ready to move on from her, I thought I was ready to love someone again, but I'm not. I still love her. She annoys me and makes me mad, she argues with me all the time and doesn't always think of other people as much as I'd like her to but I can't help it. A part of me will always love her." He paused and stepped forward, "But a part of me already loves you Tori." He grabbed her hands, "A part of me has loved you ever since I laid eyes on you when you first started at Hollywood Arts. You're so different than anyone I've ever met, you're special, you glow...you _shine_. You're the one I can never get out of my head. The one that makes my heart skip a beat just by being in the same room as me. I love you Tori Vega but I love Jade too, and I hate myself for it."

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" Tori asked tears filling her eyes again. Only this time, they were tears of happiness. Beck just told her he loved her! She'd needed to hear those words so badly and she hadn't even realised how much until now.

"Yes. I've been avoiding you because I don't know what to do Tori. I hate myself for sleeping with you when I still love someone else, even if I do love you too."

"You were drunk Beck. We both were, it's not like you planned this. Neither of us planned this."

"That's supposed to make it okay?" He asked his brown eyes piercing, "That's supposed to make it better?"

"I don't know. I really don't." The weight of her situation hit her and Tori leaned wryly against the counter for support. She knew she had to tell him, she had to do this. But she couldn't. When she opened her mouth to say it Tori found the words dying on her tongue. She just couldn't get the words out! Maybe it was the way he was looking at her right now, with his eyes all wide, lost and vulnerable that made her keep it to herself. She wasn't sure, she didn't think she ever would be. Her body was moving without her permission, her mouth forming the words she knew Beck needed to hear before she even told it to.

"It's okay Beck. We'll just forget it ever happened, okay? We never slept together."

"Are you sure?" He asked a small unbelieving smile cracking slowly across his face.

"Yeah I'm sure. It never happened."

"What never happened?" He asked with a cheeky smile returning to his old self in seconds.

"Ha ha, very funny." She replied, faking a smile was they walked out of the bathroom together.

* * *

Jade exited her stall a few minutes after she heard the door close and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe it! Beck and Tori slept together? She shuddered. Just when she'd thought she and Tori might of been friends. But what she really couldn't get out of her head was Beck's words. He still loved her! Beck was still in love with her. Of course, he was also in love with Tori. But that wouldn't last very long, Jade thought as she smiled to herself in the mirror, she was going to win her man back.


	2. Zombie

Tori was a mess. And that... that was putting it kindly. She hadn't been able to eat properly in days and she was scared, so scared that somebody was going to notice. She'd die if anyone noticed before she was ready for them to. After all she'd made up her mind, now she had to stick with her decision.

"Vega!" Sikowitz shouted and pegged a rubber ball at Tori's head. She was able to doge it before it hit her in the head and tried to right herself as normally as possible as a wave of dizziness crashed over her.

Was that normal? She wondered as she asked, "Yes Sikowitz?"

"You've been like a Zombie all week Vega. What's wrong with you?" He shouted and then rolled his eyes when she said nothing, "Get up here."

"What?" She asked and pushed herself back into her seat hoping in vain that it would conceal her. The last thing she needed right now was to do one of Sikowitz's crazy exercises.

"You heard me. Up here now!"

Tori groaned as she stood up slowly and made her way up to the stage. She didn't need this right now, she really didn't. "What?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him with an attitude that she never usually had. At this point she was blaming her hormones.

"Drive by acting exercise! You're a swashbuckling sailor in from the south. You want chicken wings but you've walked into a seafood restaurant and they don't serve chicken, you refuse to leave and demand your chicken. Robbie get up here and be a waiter. Go!"

"I'm sorry mam', we don't serve chicken wings here." Robbie said nervously and Tori glared. She didn't want to do this right now, she really didn't. But it seemed lately that she was going to be forced to do a lot of things she didn't want to, she thought as she launched herself into the scene.

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?" Andre asked as they sat down at lunch together, "You seemed off in Sikowitz's class today."

"I did?" Tori asked trying to sound innocent.

Andre rolled his eyes, "You're not that good of an actress Tori. What's up?"

Tori had never wanted to tell someone something so badly in her life. Andre was her best friend right? He'd keep her secret. He'd help her wouldn't he? She knew she couldn't do this alone, she knew she needed help but she just wasn't sure. Could she trust him to keep this quiet from Beck? And who else could she tell? Cat wouldn't be able to keep this secret, neither would Robbie, Jade would take pleasure in telling Beck, Trina was so not equipped to deal with this, so who else was there?

As she looked into Andre's big brown eyes Tori made up her mind, she was going to tell him. She had to tell someone right? She couldn't hide this forever. Why not start with Andre? "Can you keep a secret?" She asked in a voice that made him sit up straight and do a double take.

"Yes. Now what's going on Tori?"

Tori looked around. She couldn't tell him like this. "Can you come over to my place later tonight? I'll tell you then."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there."

"Good." Tori said and smiled slightly, "Thanks Andre."

* * *

Jade sauntered over to Beck that day looking a lot hotter than usual, according to Rex anyway. Beck straightened up as soon as he saw her and his panic only escalated when she smiled at him. "Hey Beck." She huffed in a sultry voice. What the hell was she doing? Beck wondered and looked towards Robbie and Rex for help. Neither of them did anything.

"Hey Jade." He replied and took a step back.

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now." She said smiling a slow smile.

"Oh yeah? About what?" Beck asked looking over to Robbie and Rex again. They were both uncharacteristically silent.

Jade's eyes slid over to them when Beck's did and her face became hard, "Get out of here losers." She growled and they scurried off. Beck noted absently how empty the halls were but most of his attention was drawn towards Jade's wardrobe. Her shirt was very low cut and her clothes were so tight that they showed off every curve in her body.

"I was wondering," Jade began, "if you wanted to go out tonight."

"I don't think tonight is going to work very well." Beck said feeling guilty about Tori all over again. He hated that he hurt Tori and that he slept with her when he was still in love with Jade. He couldn't go out with Jade now because he'd only hurt her too because he also loved Tori. Man, how the hell did his life become this complicated?

"I'll come over then." She said invading Beck's personal space. Beck swallowed hard and fought to tear his eyes away from her shirt. Right now all he wanted to do was take her in him arms, shove her up against the lockers and ... and no! Beck wouldn't do this, not again.

"I wont be home. I've got plans."

"With Tori?" Jade asked her eyes becoming cold. Beck knew she was hurt, she always shut down when she was hurt.

"What? No! What would make you think that?"

"You two were all over each other at the party last week and you'd spent every moment leading up to then practically joint at the hip."

"Jade there is nothing going on between Tori and I, okay?" He was lying again and he didn't know why. He knew he should be telling her about Tori right now, about how he felt about her, but he couldn't. Seeing her begin to shut down was enough to push him back into his old ways, tell her what she wanted to hear so she wouldn't do anything stupid. "Look I had something on tonight but I can cancel if it means that much to you."

"Great." She said and smiled the way that she only did when they were together, "I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight." Beck replied and Jade walked away. What the hell have I done? He wondered as he walked to his next class.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'll try to update soon. ;)_


	3. Frazzled

By the time Beck was showered and dressed Jade was knocking at the door. He walked over and opened the door to his trailer and quickly ushered her inside. "What's the rush to get me inside? Huh? Beck?"

"There's no rush. Now hurry up and get in here." He hissed and she raised her eyebrows at him before she let him usher her inside.

"That eager to get me alone, Oliver?" Jade drawled as she removed her coat.

"No West, I just have nosy neighbours." He replied as he tried to tear his eyes away from her skimpy clothing items.

"Sure you do." She taunted her eyes bright with excitement. Her lips were pursed in a way that promised sensuous pleasure and Beck found he was struggling to get himself under control.

"Was there something you wanted?" Beck asked swallowing hard and backing up a few steps.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked too innocently and stepped forward so she was invading his personal space again.

"I mean, why are you here? Why did you want to come over? You must be here for something, right?"

"Maybe I wanted to see you." She said with a slow smile.

"Why? We're broken up remember?"

She shrugged, "Maybe I missed you... Maybe I wanted to do this." She breathed before she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his.

* * *

Suddenly it was like none of it had ever happened. It was like the last few months had been a bad dream and none of it was real. Not a single thing. It was like nothing had ever changed between them. They were still here in Beck's trailer doing what they did most nights when they were alone together. They were holding each other close and kissing each other as if they were the last two people on the planet. They were pulling at each other's clothes so hungrily that they were almost quite literally ripping them off each other. Beck hadn't realised just how much he'd missed Jade until now. They were wrapped up in such emotion, such passion that the last few months didn't even exist. They'd never fought, they'd never broken up and he and Tori had never... Oh God, Tori. He thought and broke away from Jade as if he'd been burned.

He felt like a bucket of cold water had been plunged on him and he felt his stomach lurch with nauseousness. He looked over at Jade who looked perfect in her black lingerie and felt like such an ass-hole. He couldn't do this, he just couldn't. Because whether he liked it or not the last few months had happened, he'd broken up with Jade and made love to Tori and now he was in love with both of them. "I can't do this Jade. I'm sorry."

"What?" She exclaimed looking more than a little frazzled.

"I just can't do this. You need to go okay?"

"But-"

"Just go!" Beck shouted and moved to put his pants back on over his boxers. "Where's my shirt?" He muttered as he searched for it and Jade got herself dressed. She didn't say anything as she left his trailer but Beck knew he'd hurt her. God what the hell was wrong with him? Couldn't he do anything right? He wondered as he mulled over his situation. He knew he had to make a decision, but who?

* * *

Andre knocked on Tori's door at around 7 and Tori had to shake herself a few times before she was able to answer. "Hey Andre." She said with a small smile as she opened the door.

"Hey Tori." He replied and stepped inside.

"Look, why don't you come up to my room? We can talk in there." She said looking around the first-story of her second-story apartment. Her mother was sitting at the dining room table doing work on her laptop and Trina was sitting down in the lounge watching re-run episodes of 'Project Runway'. There was no way she was going to be able to tell him here.

"Okay." He conceded as he followed her upstairs.

* * *

"What's going on Tori?" He asked as he sat on her bed, "I try to avoid saying stuff like this usually for the sake of hurting my man-hood and all... but you're scaring me Tori.'

"I'm sorry Andre. I've just got so much going on right now... I.." She stopped. She didn't know what to say. And, really? What could she say? 'Hey I slept with you're best friend and now...'

"Oh God." She groaned, sat down next to Andre and put her head in her hands.

"Hey, it's okay Tori." He said removing her hands from her face. "It alright, tell me what's going on. I'll be there for you, okay? You can trust me."

"This is big Andre. Once I tell you there's no going back. You may not like what I have to say."

"Tori, you're my girl alright? My best friend. There is nothing you could say that would make me abandon you. I promise."

Tori's eyes filled with tears, that was all she needed. She needed someone to understand, to tell her it was going to be okay. To be there for her so she didn't have to go through this alone. She'd hoped that person could be Beck, but now she knew better. Beck may never love her the way she needed him to, may never want to have anything to do with her once he finds out the truth. But Andre would. He'd be there for her. It would be in a different way to Beck of course, but it would be enough. That promise was all she needed to open her mouth and say the very thing that had been haunting her every waking moment.

"I'm..." She paused and then started again.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

_A/N: Hey, thanks again for all the great reviews. You guys are awesome. :)_


	4. Termination

"What?" Andre shouted as he jumped up off the bed. "You're pranking me aren't you? Ashton Kutcher is about to jump out at me from behind those curtains, right? Tori? Right?"

Tori shook her head. "I wish. That would mean that this isn't happening, but it is. I guess now the only shows I'm gonna get on are '16 and pregnant' or 'Teen Mom.'" Tori hung her head in shame. "I'm a horrible person aren't I?"

"I-" He sighed and sat back down. "You're not a terrible person Tori. I take it this is relatively new news though?"

"I've known for about three days now but the conception happened about a week before then."

"Are you sure? Most people don't think that they might be pregnant until three weeks into their pregnancy."

Tori nodded, "I missed a period, I've been throwing up and feeling nauseous for most of the week and..." She grabbed the pregnancy test and showed it to him. The little pink plus sign that said she was pregnant stood out harshly against the little white stick and Tori felt like it was some kind of neon sign.

"You kept that?" Andre asked leaning back a little.

"I haven't had a chance to throw it out yet okay? My parents are going on this recycling craze and that means sorting through all the rubbish. They're leaving on business tomorrow so I'll toss it then."

"Why don't you just put it in your purse and sneak it into someone else's trash later?"

Tori groaned, "Because there is about seven more lying under my bed and sneaking all of those pregnancy tests out is going to be a little problematic."

"Right." Andre sighed, "So have you figured out what you're going to do with it yet? I mean, you know this doesn't have to happen if you don't want it to."

"I know. I've thought about it for a while now but I'm not sure if I can do it Andre. I'm not sure if I could kill my baby. On the other hand I know I'm not ready for this. I know that I'm too young to be a mother. I don't have a job or a relationship and I'm really _really_ scared right now."

Andre nodded, slid off of the bed and moved around so that he was crouching in front of Tori. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eyes. "Look at me Tori, everything is going to be okay. No matter what you decide to do I'm going to be there for you and I'll help you in anyway that I can. But you're running out of time right now and you have to make your decision."

"Okay." Tori replied squeezing Andre's hands, "I've made my decision."

* * *

The doctor's office was cold and sterile and Tori took comfort in the small amount of heat she could feel radiating off of Andre. "I don't know if I can do this." She whispered and looked around as the last other couple in the waiting room went to go in to see the doctor.

"No one is forcing you to Tori, this is your decision."

Tori nodded and leaned closer to Andre. She was so grateful for his support right now. "You're the best friend in the world."

"I know." He replied giving her a smug smile. Tori laughed despite herself and leaned against him for support. Was she really going to do this? Could she really kill her baby? Being a mother would be hard, she wasn't even sure if she could do it, if she wanted to do it. But was this really the answer? There must be some other way, she thought as she took a deep breath. She would have to find another way because she knew deep down that this wasn't an option for her.

"Tori Vega." The doctor called and Tori stood woodenly. Andre stood up behind her and grabbed her hand in his. She returned his gesture with a grateful squeeze before she turned around.

"I can't do this Andre."

He smiled a small smile, "I know Tori." He let go of Tori's hand and went over to the doctor. They talked in hushed voices for a moment before Andre turned around and made his way over to Tori.

"Let's go." He said before he took her hand again and led her out of there.

* * *

The car ride from the doctor's surgery was quiet and Tori could tell Andre was trying to think of how to say something. "Just say it." She groaned after 15 minutes of painful silence went by.

He looked at her briefly before turning his eyes to the road. "Okay Tori. I was just wondering... I mean I haven't asked before but... who is the father? Now that you're keeping the baby who ever he is, he has a right to know... right?"

Tori sighed and looked out the window. "I don't know." She confided and turned back around to face Andre. "I mean, I know who the father is but I don't know if he _should _know. I don't think he would want to."

"Isn't that his decision though?" Andre asked.

"Yeah I guess. But this isn't really the type of thing you can take back, you know? It's not really something I'm sure he'd be able to ignore even if he wanted to. He's just not that type of guy, and I don't want him to feel trapped by something like this I really don't."What Tori was trying to say to Andre without really saying it was that she wanted Beck to tell her he loved her because of her. She didn't want him to only be there for her because of their baby. She wanted him to make his decision without having to factor her pregnancy into the equation.

Andre sighed, "So what's the plan then? Just keep it to yourself and then hope no one notices when you start sprouting a mega stomach?"

"No." Tori said indignantly, "The plan is to move to Switzerland."

Andre blanched, "Please tell me you're joking."

"Yeah, I'm joking." She said and then giggled, "But you should've seen your face!"

Andre laughed and shook his head, "Come on Tori. Who is he?"

"I can't say." She said evasively.

"Do I know him?"

"I don't know, do you?"

"Tori!" He exclaimed and gave her a pleading look, "Just tell me who it is. Please?"

"I. _Can't_." She said her eyes beginning to fill with tears. She couldn't tell Andre that Beck was the father because she was sure he would tell him. She couldn't let that happen. At least not until he'd made his decision.

"He didn't... he didn't force himself on you did he Tori?"

"What? No!" She wiped her eyes, "Of course he didn't. But I still can't tell him. Not yet. Please try to understand."

He sighed, "Fine. But what are you going to do when people start asking questions?"

"I don't know. Probably just confirm how much of a slut they're going to think I am."

"You're not a slut Tori." Andre said and took one hand of the wheel so he could hold one of hers, "You'll never be a slut. You just made a mistake. At least you're brave enough to deal with it."

"Thanks Andre. I really don't deserve to have a friend as good as you."

"Well, yeah. But that's alright, I don't mind." He smiled at her once before he turned his eyes back to the road.

* * *

"Beck!" Jade shouted as she ran up to him.

"What?" He asked and looked around. Why did she only ever approach him when there was no one else around?

"We need to talk about what happened last night."

"What's there to talk about?"

"Us!" She shouted in a voice that made Beck's stomach clench. Why the hell was he being such a jerk to everyone? He was angry at himself, not them.

"What about us?" He asked hating how dead his voice sounded.

"I love you Beck. Okay? I love you. I need you to tell me you love me too."

Beck sighed, "I do love you. I really do. But there's someone else and I love them too."

"Of course." She muttered and Beck hated how deflated her voice sounded, "I always knew I'd never be enough for you." She looked down and Beck followed her eyes. When he did he noticed the jagged cuts along her wrist line and let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"You're cutting again?"

Jade nodded beginning to cry, "I couldn't help it. I _need _you Beck. I love you."

"I know and I love you too. I just can't do this right now. I'm so confused about everything." He sighed, "I need you to promise me something though."

"What?" She asked tilting her face upwards so he could look her in the eyes.

"I need you to promise me you're going to stop cutting yourself. Stop hurting yourself, _please_."

"I'll try." She said with a sad smile.

"Thank you." He replied giving her a hug, knowing that was the best he was going to get. When the hug was over Beck turned and walked away from her hating himself even more.


	5. Torn

"Thanks for sleeping over tonight Andre." Tori said as she laid down in her bed. Andre was lying next to her bed on a mattress on the floor and Tori was so glad that for whatever reason he'd decided to be friends with her.

"No problem Tori." He murmured as he glanced at her from his bed, "What are you going to do tomorrow though?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean, you're going to have to tell people you're pregnant now. You're keeping this baby, people are going to notice. You should tell your parents."

"My parents?" Tori shrieked and sat up in her bed. She lowered her voice when she remembered Trina was in the next room, "I can't tell them Andre."

"You can't hide this from them Tori, they're going to notice eventually. I mean, they're going to be grandparents!"

Tori sighed, "I know! But if I tell them they're going to want to know who the father is and I can't tell them that, not yet anyway."

"You know, you're not exactly making this easier."

"I know." She replied and sighed again, "I wish I could wake up tomorrow and have this just be some bad dream."

"You could, or well you could've, but you chose not to. There's no shame in that Tori. But you've got to deal with this now, you're not going to be able to keep this a secret for much longer."

"When did you get so wise?" She groaned and lay back down on her side so she was facing him.

Andre laughed, "I don't know. My mother had me at 16, I guess I just learnt this stuff from her. You know, before she died."

"Do you miss her?"

"Of course I do. But it gets easier to go on without her around, its just at times like these that I wish she was here."

"I kinda wish she was here too. But I'm glad you'e here Andre. I know I've said this a lot lately, but I really don't know what I do without you."

"Well, right now you should probably sleep. Since now you need rest for two people and all..."

Tori laughed, "Goodnight Andre."

* * *

Monday came around too soon and before Tori knew it she was walking into Hollywood Arts wearing another loose shirt hoping no one would notice her sudden wardrobe change. She wasn't showing yet, but she would soon and she wasn't ready for people to notice. "Tori!" Beck called. Tori whipped around and really wished she hadn't. Bile rose in her throat and she had to try to keep it down as she steadied herself and tried not to fall over. She really hated morning sickness.

"Hey Beck." She replied with a smile when she was sure she could speak properly.

"Are you alright? You look kind of pale." He said stepping forward his brown eyes curious. Tori wondered just how much of that night he remembered.

"I'm fine." She said trying to keep her smile in place, she was so _not_ fine. She was pregnant to the person she loved but couldn't tell him because he was in love with someone else and hadn't decided between them yet. Not to mention she was only 16! She was still a teenager, still a baby according to some people, and she was not equipped to deal with this.

He scrutinized her face for a minute before he said, "No you're not. What's going on? Is this because of what happened at the party the other week? Because I told you I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have done that with you if I wasn't sure I wanted to be with you."

"No, you shouldn't have." Tori said her voice breaking and her eyes filling with angry tears. She was just so tired, scared and she was angry. She was angry at herself for being so stupid, for thinking she could do any of this, for thinking she actually had a chance with someone like Beck.

"I'm sorry Tori. I really am." He said and took her face in his hands, "I wish we hadn't done what we did, I really do."

"I don't." Tori said surprising herself, "I don't regret sleeping with you Beck. I did before but I don't any more. I just hate everything that's happened afterwards, everything that has happened because of what we did." She swallowed hard and blinked the tears out of her eyes, she hated crying. "I need you to stop apologizing because I am so sick of hearing I'm sorry. I want you to stop telling me you're sorry about every thing that's happened because you love Jade, and then saying that you could never be with her either because you love me. I need you to make a decision Beck, I need you to choose; me or her."

"I know." He said and leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm trying Tori, I really am. But its just so hard and I feel so torn. But I'll make a decision soon, I promise."

"Good." She said and then took Beck's hands away from her face. "See you later." She said before she backed away from him and made her way to class.

* * *

"Hey Vega!" Someone yelled just as Tori was about to reach her classroom. What now? She thought as she turned to face Jade and was so glad she'd been able to get her emotions and expression under control before now.

"What do you want Jade?" Tori asked wryly. She just wanted to lie down already, she was so damn tired.

"I want you to stay away from Beck." She said her blue grey eyes intense.

"Why?" Tori asked and tried to sound innocent.

Jade smiled cruelly, "I know you two slept together Vega. And I also know that it will _never_ happen again. Am I clear? Beck is mine, not yours."

"Really? He didn't seem to be yours when he was having sex with me."

"Oh please Tori, do you actually think that drunken moment of stupidity really meant anything to Beck? Because it didn't."

"You're lying." Tori said and shook her head.

"Really? Am I? Well why isn't he with you now? Beck has never been one to tap and go, if you know what I mean."

"He isn't with me because he's confused. He loves me but he-"

"He what? Hmm? He loves you but he's in love with someone else too?" Jade snickered, "Please Vega, don't be stupid. Beck only said that because he didn't want to hurt your feelings. He thinks of you as a friend and as a friend he doesn't want to make you feel cheap. But that's all you were to him, a cheap thrill. Not that I can really understand what would've been so thrilling about it." She smirked.

"He wouldn't do that." Tori said with another shake of her head, "He doesn't act like a friend around me."

"Precisely Vega! He's acting! He doesn't love you, he's never loved you. So maybe you should back off before you really get hurt."

"He wouldn't do that." Tori said again willing it not to be true. But a part of her conceded that it did make sense. It really did.

"Oh he would. Besides, he didn't seem to be all that in love with you when he was making out with me just last night. It was pretty hot Tori, you should be jealous."

Tori blanched. Beck made out with Jade? After he'd explicitly told Tori that nothing could happen between them? Tori couldn't believe it. She felt so betrayed. She didn't want to believe her ears. She'd agreed not to tell Beck until he'd made his decision, but what if there never had been any real decision in the first place? What if Tori was just his little mistake? What if he never did love her and was only telling her he did to try and make it better? To soften the blow with the whole 'I'm in love with two people' scenario? Tori felt like she was going to be sick. As she looked at Jade West she'd never wanted to punch someone so badly in her life.

Tori swallowed hard, "I'm not jealous of you Jade and I never will be. Beck loves me he just needs to get over his silly leftover feelings for you before he can do anything about it."

"Did you just call me leftovers?" Jade asked advancing on Tori.

"Yeah, I think I did." She said and then turned around and walked to class as fast as she could. She wouldn't have been able to withstand a fight with Jade on a normal day, being pregnant so did not help her cause.

* * *

The next day Beck left his trailer early so he could avoid the flourish of girls who usually waited outside wanting him to give them lifts to school. He was in no frame of mind to put up with their incoherent babble today. Today was the day he was going to make his decision, or at least he was going to try to. He couldn't keep stringing Tori and Jade along like this, it just wasn't fair. So this was it, by the end of the day he was going to choose between them and there would be no going back. As hard as this was going to be he knew it was something he had to do, he owed it to them and, more importantly, he owed it to himself.


	6. Decision

Beck sat in class looking at the clock and found for the first time since he moved to Hollywood Arts he couldn't concentrate on a single thing his teacher was saying. Something in the lectures usually grabbed his attention, not matter what was on his mind. But not today, today all he could think about was Tori. He loved her, he really did, and he knew deep down that she was the one for him. He'd been confused about Jade until the other day, but it wasn't because he was in love with her. It was because he was in love with her at one stage in his life. She'd been his first big love and that was something that Beck would never be able to forget. He wouldn't forget his relationship with Jade, but it was time to move on from it. Beck had never been so sure of anything in his life, he loved Tori Vega. He loved her more than she'd ever know, more than he could ever express, and he wanted to be with her. He really did. So he'd decided he'd tell her today at lunch and the minutes had never gone by so slow.

* * *

Jade sat behind Beck in class and couldn't help but notice the way he kept staring at the clock. Usually this was one of Beck's favourite classes and he was always staring at the teacher with rapt attention. What could possibly have him so lost in thought that the only thing he could concentrate on was the pulsing hands of a clock? What could possibly have those big dark brown eyes clouded with impatience, those beautiful muscles trembling as if he's itching to get to the door. He was drawing something absently on his notepad and Jade tried to inconspicuously lean upwards and see what it was. What could possibly be making him this anxious? Jade wondered as the name on his book came into view... Tori? Why the hell would he be stencilling Tori's name into his notebook? Unless... unless he'd chosen her! Jade suppressed a gasp and sank back into her seat. He couldn't choose Tori! He couldn't, she wouldn't let him. She'd said she was going to get him back and that was exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

The class ended after what felt like eternity to Beck and before he knew it he was shuffling out of class trying not to push people over on his way out. He hadn't felt this free in a long time. He knew who he loved, he knew what he was going to do, now he just had to tell her. She'd be happy right? She'd be happy he could stop saying sorry for things that he hadn't known he'd had control over this whole time. Well, even if she wasn't he would be. He didn't feel like he was going to be sick any more and he could breathe a little easier now knowing he'd made the right decision for him. He was just about to leave the classroom when a crying Jade bustled past him and ran into the girls' bathroom.

What now? Beck wondered as he followed her inside. With all the time he was spending in here people were going to think he'd had a sex change or something. "Jade?" He asked and knocked on the only occupied stall in the bathroom.

"Go away." Jade murmured from the other side of the door and Beck really wished he could. He wished he could ignore this piece of drama and go tell Tori the truth. But he couldn't. He knew Jade well enough to know that if she was crying then some pretty serious shit must be going down and even though he didn't love her in that way any more, he still loved her and he wanted to be there for her.

"Please just let me in." Beck said and leaned against the door, "I'll break this door down if I have to."

"Go away." She said again but her voice broke on the last word this time sending her voice into a high pitched whine.

"No." Beck said stubbornly, excruciatingly aware that every second he spent here was one he could be using to tell Tori how he really felt.

Jade didn't answer. The sobs continued quietly but they were followed by these strange sighs, like sighs of... relief?

"Shit!" Beck muttered and started banging on the door, "Let me in Jade!"

No answer.

Beck started running against the door, trying to break it down with all the strength he could muster.

* * *

The door sprang away from its hinges and before him sitting on the lid of the closed toilet, covered in blood was Jade. "What have you done?" He asked and rushed forward to grab the razor from her hands. "What the hell have you done?" He shouted shaking her slightly.

She cried harder, "I'm sorry Beck. I know I promised I'd try not to do it again but... but..." Her voice cut off in gut wrenching sobs and she wound her arms around Beck's neck. He hugged her back and tried his best to soothe her.

"But what, Jade? What's going on?"

"I can't..." She swallowed hard and shook her head, sobs cutting off the rest of her sentence.

"Yes you can. You can tell me Jade. Its okay." He soothed and at that moment someone tried to enter the bathroom.

"Get out!" Beck yelled at them and they turned and ran away before they could see much more of Jade. "Okay, come on." He said and then picked her up and moved her into the handicapped stall.

There was enough room for both of them in this stall and it had a sink and a mirror in it so Beck could hopefully get Jade cleaned up without any more interruptions.

* * *

When Jade was cleaned up and Beck was sure she wasn't going to bleed out on the floor, the pair of them sat wordlessly on the floor together. Jade clung to Beck as if he was the only thing keeping her afloat right now, as if he was the only one keeping her alive, and Beck could feel himself getting sucked in again. Just an hour ago he'd sworn he was over Jade, sworn that he was in love with Tori, but here he was holding Jade as if she was the only thing that mattered. He tried to tell himself that that's not what it was and that he was just being a good friend, but even he didn't really believe that. "What's going on Jade? You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Beck, I'm just so scared." She whispered clinging to him tighter. Beck's pulse quickened, Jade never said she was scared. Ever.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I can't Beck, I _can't._"

"Yes you can. Okay? Please let me in Jade. _Please._" He pleaded feeling desperate.

"It's my dad." She whispered. "He's back in town from another business trip." She sighed. "Just forget it Beck, we're not together any more you shouldn't care about this." She pulled away from him and turned so she was facing him.

As much as Beck hated to admit it his heart gave a painful lurch when she pulled away, "I care Jade. Even though we're not together a part of me will always love you. I'm always going to care about you."

"I don't want you to just care about me!" She shouted and wiped her eyes, "I love you Beck! Okay? I fucking love you! You were the only good thing I had in my life and you walked away from me too, just like I always knew you would."

"I walked away from you because you turned into a neurotic bitch." Beck quipped back even though he knew he shouldn't. He could sense that Jade was on thin ice here and he knew he shouldn't be provoking her, but he just couldn't help it. He still cared enough about her to be mad at her.

She turned her face away, "Go away Beck. Just leave me alone."

Beck swallowed hard, "I can't leave you alone Jade. You know that. Now please just tell me what's going on with your dad?"

She turned her face towards him and shook her head. A few tears fell free from her eyes and she said, "Not until you promise me you're not going to leave me again."

"What?" Beck asked taken back.

"I need you to promise me Beck. I can't open up to you if I'm just going to loose you again."

Beck sighed and searched her face. He knew that if he didn't do what she wanted right now she was going to do something incredibly stupid, "Okay. I promise I won't leave you." He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, "I'm not going anywhere. Now tell me what's going on."

"He's hitting me again Beck." She whispered and grabbed her shirt. She pulled it up from the bottom to show yellowing bruises and jagged cuts on her back. "I can't go through this again."

"You wont. I promise. I'm not going to leave you." He whispered back and held her tighter. If Beck ever got his hands on her father the man would be sorry.

"I love you Beck." She said and buried her head in his chest.

"I love you too Jade." He replied although it wasn't entirely true.

Beck didn't see it because her face was hidden, but when he said those words all Jade could do was smile quietly to herself..


	7. Mine

When Beck woke up the next morning his head hurt. He'd thought he'd sorted things out, made them better, but now everything was just as screwed up as ever. He didn't think this situation could get any worse. He really didn't. He had just figured out who he was really in love with but he couldn't be with her because of Jade. Even though he didn't love Jade in that way any more, he knew he couldn't leave her now. Not when she needed him so much. And honestly she didn't really have anybody else. Every friend she'd ever had she'd pushed away and while Beck knew that it was her fault, he couldn't just abandon her. But, having said that, he wasn't really sure he was happy with the way things were turning out.

Jade had taken their little reunion in the bathroom to heart and had already reinstated their 'boyfriend/girlfriend' status. She'd sent him a relationship request on the Slap and had already uploaded pictures of them together saying they're a couple. He just really hoped Tori hadn't seen them yet and if she had, well, Beck just hoped she'd let him explain. Although he wasn't sure that was going to fare too well considering she'd been sick of all of his other apologies. Beck sighed, he really wished he could run away right now and never look back.

* * *

Tori Vega had always tried to be nice to people. She had always believed that you get from the world what you put into it. So why was any of this happening to her? She's always been nice to everyone, even that bitchy Jade West. Who was now probably out to get Tori for sleeping with her ex and calling her leftovers. She'd always been scared of Jade and that was something that didn't seem like it was going to change for a while.

"Hey Tori," Andre said with a smile as his car pulled into the driveway. He was taking her to school now because Trina had left to go and track down a casting director she'd been talking with, leaving Tori here by herself.

"Thanks for giving me a ride Andre." She said as she climbed in the car. Once she was inside Andre wound her electric window back up and put on the air conditioning.

"No problem Tori," He replied with a smile. Then he paused as if he was trying to think something over. "Would you mind if I stayed with you for the next couple of days? I don't feel comfortable about you staying in that big apartment of yours all alone. Besides my aunt's back in town and I think it's time she spent some quality time with my grandma."

"Are you sure you want to stay with a pregnant teenage girl?"

"Pfft," He scoffed, "You aint that bad yet."

"_Yet,_" Tori emphasised with a smile, "I'm going to get a lot worse as this goes on."

Andre shrugged, "I know. That's precisely why you shouldn't be all alone."

"Andre, you really don't have to move in with me. You've done enough for me already."

He sighed, "Let me come stay with you or I'm going to make a scene." He said as they pulled into the Hollywood Arts car park. "I'll scream. You know I will."

Tori laughed, "Fine. But just until Trina gets back."

"Fine." He said triumphantly and they got out of the car.

* * *

Andre and Tori joined up with the Cat and Robbie. It was the first time she'd really talked to Cat and Robbie in a while and Tori hadn't realised how much she'd missed them. Cat's adorable eccentricity and Robbie's weird comments that sometimes made her cringe were actually two of the things that comforted her right now, because they were normal and they were most likely going nowhere. As she sat Tori noticed something strange. It was Beck. But he... he couldn't be! But he was. He was walking towards them hand in hand with Jade. For a second it was like they'd never broken up, never even been separated. They looked exactly the same, they moved together in some sort of perfect synchronized unity and Tori wondered why she'd ever been so stupid. She'd been stupid to think that she'd ever had a chance with Beck. That he would ever love her in the same way she loved him. But he didn't. She could see that now. She knew he'd made his choice. Couldn't he have told her before now though? She thought angrily as she tried to keep her emotions under control. Breaking down now would be exactly what Jade wanted.

Jade smiled at her as she walked up with Beck. It wasn't a nice smile. It was a triumphant, gloating smile that told Tori everything. Jade had won, Jade would always win when it came to Beck and that was that. There was nothing Tori could do about it because he'd chosen her. After everything he'd told Tori, after every caring word, after what had happened between them; he'd chosen her. He would always choose her. She sat down across from Tori and waited until everyone else at the table were completely engrossed in their conversations before she leaned over to Tori and said, "See Vega, he's mine. He'll always be mine."

Tori couldn't take it any more, she got up from the table and left.

* * *

"Tori!" Beck called after her. He'd followed her from the table into, yep you guessed it, the girl's bathroom. "Tori, wait! Please let me explain!"

"Explain what Beck?" She asked as she whipped around. Beck knew she was trying not to show it but he could read the hurt in her eyes as if she were singing about it. "You chose her, that's all there is to it. You couldn't have at least told me first though? Did I really have to find out like that?"

Beck sighed, " I'm sorry Tori. I know I said I wouldn't say that any more, but that's all I can say. Jade hasn't left me alone since we got back together, I haven't been able to think straight let alone contact anyone. But she needs me right now, okay? I couldn't leave her." He replied and hoped he could make her understand. He loved her so much that having her look at him this way was killing him.

"I need you Beck." She whimpered, sending Beck's mind into a flurry.

"What's going on?" He asked stepping forward anxiously. Tori looked like crap, and that was putting it kindly, her eyes were wide and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"I'm," She began, took a deep breath and shut her eyes, "I'm -"

"Beck!" Jade shouted as she cut in through the bathroom doors, "What are you doing in here? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"You have?" He asked as he whirled around. He could've sworn he'd only been gone for about five minutes.

"Yes. When you rushed off like you did I got worried." She said her eyes softening then she looked at Tori and her eyes became hard, "Hey Vega." Jade said with a smile filled with some emotion Beck couldn't place.

Tori didn't reply. She just stood there looking at Jade as if she wanted to drown her in the sink, or something. Was that even possible? Beck wondered as Jade grabbed his hand. "Come on Beck, let's go. I need a coffee."

So do I, Beck thought as he let her guide him out of there wishing more than anything that he could stay.

* * *

When Tori went back to her apartment that night she wished more than anything she could fall asleep, but sleep would never come. It was like the harder she tried to catch sleep the more it evaded her. She was just too wound up, too restless. She couldn't shut of her brain. All she could think about was Beck and then Jade, and then Beck again, and then their baby, and then what she was going to do when she started to show. It had barely been a week since she found out she was pregnant but it felt more like a year, so much had happened and so many things had changed that she wasn't sure she could keep up. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, she was so not getting sleep tonight.

Before she knew it she was creeping over Andre's sleeping figure on the floor, making her way out of her bedroom and into the bathroom across the hall. She would've usually used the one in her bedroom, but for fear of waking Andre up she chose to use this one instead. She didn't really know why she was doing this, but she supposed it was about time she practised. She had done all of her crying for Beck this afternoon in the girl's bathroom and now she had to take action. Even though he wasn't going to be with her Beck still had a right to know that she was carrying his baby. So she needed to work out what she was going to say and how she was going to say it. When she acted she always had lines rehearsed right? So why should this be any different? If she was going to act like everything was fine and like she would be okay with them raising this baby apart, she had to have some practise to make it believable.

She shut the door behind her and looked into the mirror, "Take a deep breath." She said, "You can do this."

Tori took a deep breath, smoothed her hair away from her face and imagined Beck was standing in front of her, "Beck," She began and then cleared her throat, "Beck I have something that I need to tell you. I understand that once I tell you things may never be the same again between us, and I just want you to know that what I'm going to tell you is going to be big. It's going to be life changing and scary and I want you to know that you don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to. But you do need to know." She sighed and looked herself in the eyes, "I'm pregnant Beck, you're the father." She hung her head, "Now if only I could say that to you in person." She shook her head and turned towards the door... where she stopped dead...

"Andre?" She asked and stepped forward..

Andre was standing in the doorway staring at her with wide eyes.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews, they honestly make me so happy :). Oh & sorry I haven't been able to update for the past couple of days, I've been really busy at work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter . ;D_

_P.S: Sorry for any mistakes, I haven't proof read this yet but I'll do that when I wake up tomorrow. _


	8. Threat

"Tori?" He whispered and took a step backwards.

"You can't tell anybody!" She blurted and took a step forwards, "You have to promise me that you wont tell anybody."

"What? How can you even ask me that? Beck is my best friend! He has a right to know."

"I know! I know!" She closed the distance between them and grabbed him by the arms, "And I will tell Beck, believe me I will. I have to, I know I do."

Andre sighed, "Why haven't you told him already? I know you Tori, you wouldn't be keeping this quiet unless you had a good reason."

"I'm keeping this quiet because," She paused, "I'm keeping this quiet because I wanted Beck to choose me. I wanted him to tell me he loved me and I wanted him to be with me without feeling guilty about me carrying his baby. He made his choice, he didn't choose me."

"So you're going to tell him now? After he didn't choose you?"

Tori nodded, "I don't have another choice Andre. You were right, he needs to know. I'll just have to make it clear that I don't expect anything from him."

"But you do want him around right?"

"Of course I do!" Tori exclaimed and let out a choked sob, "That's what I want more than anything in the world Andre. I don't want to go through this alone. But he didn't choose me... no one ever chooses me." And with that her emotions got the best of her. Her hormones, sleep deprivation and the shitty turn of events her life had taken overwhelmed her. She collapsed crying into Andre's arms. He didn't say anything, she didn't really want him to either, he just held her while she cried.

* * *

Tori didn't remember actually getting into bed last night but that's where she woke up. Andre must've carried me, she thought to herself as she rolled over and then sat up. She looked around, Andre wasn't in his bed. Suddenly a rush of terror overcame Tori. What if he'd decided he couldn't take it any more? What if he'd changed his mind and decided to tell Beck everything? Tori jumped up off of her bed and threw on the first item of clothing she could get her hands on. "I have to find him." She whispered to herself as she ran out of her room, down the stairs and... stopped.

"Morning Tori." Andre greeted her with a smile. He was standing behind the kitchen counter wearing an apron and he was making waffles. "You in a rush to be somewhere? We're not going to be late for school if that's what you're worried about, its 7 am."

Tori made herself smile as guilt overwhelmed her, "Yeah, I guess I must've read my clock wrong." She said as she made her way down the rest of the stairs.

"Are you sure you want to go today?" Andre asked, "After everything that has happened over the last few days, you'd be more than a little entitled to take a rest day. I'll stay with you, we can watch all those mushy chick flicks you like."

Tori laughed and wondered why she'd ever thought Andre would betray her. He was her best friend, he'd stuck with her so far and something told Tori that he'd stick with her until the end. "I can't. If I don't go today I won't go tomorrow, or the day after that. I have to face this Andre."

Andre nodded, "I thought you'd say that. That's why I made you a nice breakfast so you and mini you can go to school with strength."

"Thanks Andre." She said and stepped forward. As she did the smell of the waffles attacked her nose, what usually would've smelt amazing to her smelt unbelievably putrid. "Oh no." She said before she covered her mouth with her hand and ran as fast as she could into their downstairs bathroom.

* * *

"Here," Andre said and put two pieces of buttered toast in front of Tori, "I figured you'd have a better chance of keeping these down."

"I'm sorry Andre, after all the trouble you went to.. I feel terrible."

Andre smiled, "Don't feel terrible girl, you can't control it. But eat up quick or we really will be late for school."

"Kay." Tori said and did as she was told. She ate in silence thinking about the day ahead of her. She had to tell Beck about their baby and today was the day she would finally do it. She couldn't go on living a lie like this and Beck really did have a right to know he was going to be a father. She could do it, she'd practised what she was going to say, she wouldn't be floundering for words or mucking around like she did yesterday. She was going to tell Beck today and figure out the rest tomorrow.

* * *

As she made her way into school that day though, it hit her that she really did have no idea what she was doing. No amount of practising or comfort from Andre was ever going to prepare her for what she was about to do. What she was about to tell the man she loved. It wasn't something that should be taken lightly, a baby was life changing. People often didn't get that. When most people thought about babies they thought about those cute, cuddly little things they used to baby sit when they were kids. They thought about the kids they thought were Angels that just happened to eat a lot and then vigorously use their diapers. But the great thing about those children was that they went back to their parents at the end of the day. In small dosages anything would be particularly easy to take. But there was no giving this child back at the end of the day. This child would be in her life forever. It would rely on her for the next 20 years of her life, maybe even longer depending on America's unemployment rate then. She knew she couldn't do all of that alone, if at all, and she knew she had to give Beck the option of being involved or not whether she wanted to or not. He was going to find out eventually anyway and put two and two together. It would be best coming from her now anyway... right?

She took a deep breathe to steady herself as she walked up to Beck. He was standing outside his locker looking incredibly handsome today. Tori wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and readied herself for what was sure to be a difficult conversation. "Beck?" She asked quietly as she stood in front of him.  
"Hey Tori," He said with a smile and a lump formed in Tori's throat.

"Beck I need to tell you something." She swallowed hard and took a deep breath as he said,

"Sure. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"Good, because this may not be easy to hear. I'm -" She faltered and started again, "I'm -"

"Beck!"

Oh no, not again! Tori thought to herself as Jade interrupted them again. Was she like physic or something? How did she always know to interrupt when Tori was on the verge of telling Beck the truth. Was it really too much to ask for her to not have to go through this alone? She knew she had Andre now, but it wasn't the same. Andre was not the father of her baby and Beck was. She needed someone to fill that role, whether she wanted to admit it or not, because she wasn't even sure she could handle being a mother. She knew she would never be able to handle both.

"Jade." He breathed before she kissed him passionately.

Jade's last words to Tori ran through her mind; 'See Vega, he's mine. He'll always be mine.' As Tori looked at them now it seemed pretty obvious to Tori that Jade was still trying to get her point across.

Tori cleared her throat dryly and the two broke apart from each other. Beck looked flustered and Jade looked quite pleased with herself.

"Oh hello Vega." Jade said in her usual sarcastic mocking tone.

"Jade." Tori nodded coolly.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Beck asked as he wound his arm around Jade's shoulders.

Tori faked a laugh, "Nothing. Don't worry about it. I'll see you guys later." She said as she walked away. Okay, so maybe crowded school hallway wasn't the best place to tell him after all.

* * *

When Andre met up with Tori she could tell he was disappointed that she hadn't told Beck. "I'll do it later, when we're somewhere more private. After all it's going to be a lot for him to take in. I mean it's not like I should just walk up to him with a megaphone and be like 'Hey Beck! I know you don't love me or anything but I'm pregnant. That's right! You're going to be a daddy."

"Shh! Keep your voice down Tori or you wont even need to tell him any more."

"I'm starting to think that might not be such a bad thing." She muttered and shoved the hair out of her eyes.

"I do." Andre replied truthfully, "You have to do this properly Tori."

"I know." She groaned, "I know I do. It doesn't make it any easier."

Andre smiled, "Well if its any constellation I think you're doing a great job so far."

Tori smiled back, "Thanks Andre."

* * *

Tori left the bathroom a few minutes after Andre, or at least she'd tried to. She'd stayed back to get herself under control and when she did she tried to walk out of the bathroom, but came face to face with Jade. Jade herded her back into the bathroom and the door closed shut behind Jade with a sickening click. "What do you want Jade?" She asked cringing at the look in Jade's eyes, "You got Beck, you have what you've always wanted. Now leave me alone."

Jade smiled. It wasn't a nice smile either. It was the sort of smile you would only ever dream up in your wildest nightmares, "I can't do that Tori. Not after what I just heard. You know Andre's right, you really shouldn't talk so loud if you want to have a private conversation."

"So you know I'm pregnant." Tori concluded obviously, "What do you want Jade?"

"The same thing I always have Tori. I want you to leave Beck alone. I don't want him knowing about this. You understand me? Beck can never know."

"Oh yeah? And just what makes you think you have any say in the matter?" Tori asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh nothing." Jade said tauntingly, "But I know that you must want to keep this baby right? So I'm just saying it might be best to find some other poor soul to blame this little mistake on."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Jade began with a sigh, "don't tell Beck he's the father. Lie to him Tori. Make out someone else is the father, say you were raped, I don't care. Just make sure Beck doesn't find out its his."

"Why the hell should I do that?" Tori asked in outrage. How dare Jade have the gall to try and force her to lie about her own baby.

"Because if you don't, you might not have a baby to burden him with." Her smiled became malicious and she took on a murderous look in her eyes, "Get the picture Vega? If you don't keep this from Beck, you and your baby might not be around for much longer."

"You're crazy!" Tori exclaimed realised just how insane Jade was for the first time. She'd always known that there was something wrong with the other girl, but she'd never thought anything had been this wrong before.

"Am I? Huh. I hadn't noticed." She said and moved forward, "Do we have an understanding?"

Tori's eyes filled with tears and she felt nothing but shame as she whispered a small, "Yes." There was no way she could risk taking on Jade's crazy now. She might have before but now it was different, now it wasn't just herself she had to think about.

"Good girl." She said with a triumphant smile, "That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Tori didn't answer.

"See you round Vega." Jade said with a sick smile as she exited the bathroom.

Tori found her legs wouldn't hold her up any more. She sank to her knees on the bathroom floor where she sat for what felt like an eternity, trying to fully process everything that had just happened.

* * *

_A/N: Don't you just hate Jade right now? ;) lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to update this soon, but please bear with me as I'm back at school now and every thing is going to be completely crazy for the next few weeks. Thanks for reading and reviewing ! :D _


	9. Trust

Tori walked home woodenly that afternoon, enjoying the way the wind blew across her face and played with her hair. She felt so ashamed of herself. She couldn't believe that she'd let Jade get away with this. She was ashamed of herself for subsiding so easily, but she didn't have a choice. She was in no position to take on the monster that was Jade West. She just couldn't risk loosing her baby over this, she would not put her child in danger. She _couldn't_. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, at least not in the moral sense of the word, but it was the right thing for her to do... For now, at least.

She just wondered how she was going to tell Andre. He'd been so good to her through out this whole thing, would he still stand by her once he knew she wasn't going to tell Beck? Would he still think that she wasn't a horrible person? Or would he expose her for the coward she felt like she was? But more importantly, how was she going to tell him? She had to do it in a way that ensured he wouldn't get mad. If he got mad then he might goo and tell Beck himself. For the sake of her child, she couldn't let that happen.

Huh, Speak of the Devil, Tori thought as her phone beeped and she received a text from Andre.

_'Are you okay? Are you sure you don't want me to come get you?'_ It read, and Tori felt a small smile emerge on her face. He was such a worry wart.

_'I'm okay,' _She texted back, _'Just taking my time, I'll be home soon." _She'd declined his offer of a ride home so she could have some time alone to clear her head. She needed to be strong right now, for her child. She'd been walking for about five minutes when her phone beeped again. She sighed and read Andre's latest text.

_'Where are you?' _It read.

_'Around the corner. Why?'_

_'Get home now.'_ Was all she got in reply.

She quickened her pace and lengthened her strides until she was all but sprinting down the road. What could be so bad that he would request her presence so forcefully? She rounded the corner and walked up to her apartment door... which had been left wide open.

* * *

"Andre?" She asked as she stepped inside and a part of her started to panic. What if Jade had finally lost it and had come and done something to Andre? At the thought he heart rate quickened and terror washed over her. "Andre?" She asked again, hating the note of fear in her voice.

"Tori!" He exclaimed as he came running down the stairs. Relief washed over her for a brief moment as she realised he was carrying all of his stuff.

"Andre, what's going on?" She asked and he opened up his mouth to answer her, but he never got a chance to.

"Tori!" Her mother exclaimed appearing on the stairs with Tori's dad following behind her.

"Mom! Dad!" She shouted happily, until she realised that they weren't smiling back at her. They didn't even look remotely happy, the smile wiped from Tori's face. "What's going on?" She asked looking between them anxiously.

"I don't know, we were hoping you could tell us. We're the ones who had to come back from our trip to find some strange boy staying in our home."

"Andre isn't some strange boy, you know that." Tori said, her mind unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes I know. But why is he living here?"

"What's going on Tori?" Her father asked speaking for the first time. Tori looked at Andre who gave her a small nod of encouragement.

She sighed, "Mom, dad," She paused and decided to just spit it out, "I'm pregnant."

"What?" He parents exclaimed simultaneously and Andre moved closer to her as they descended down the stairs. Andre's whole body was tense and she could tell he was trying to gage their reaction to see if he needed to step in.

"I'm going to have a baby." She clarified, and her parent's went quiet.

"Who's the father?" Her dad said with a murderous glint in his eyes.

It was Tori's time to be silent. Bile was rising in her throat and her stomach was turning. "I'm going to be sick." She said before she ran into the bathroom.

* * *

Andre followed her and held her hair back while she threw up. "I'm sorry Tori, I should have warned you. But they were watching everything I typed. I think they were afraid that something like this would happen."

"I can't tell them about Beck." She said as soon as she could speak. She wiped her mouth with a tissue and turned to face him. "They can't know he's the father. No one can know."

"What do you mean? You have to tell him Tori."

"No!" She hissed, "You don't understand, he can never know. Please don't say anything, _please_?" Her eyes started watering and she played up the hysterical pregnant girl angle for everything it was worth. It must've worked because his eyes softened and he smoothed her hair back.

"Are you okay, Tori? What's going on?"

"No, I don't think I am." She whispered and wiped her eyes, "But I can't tell you. I know I'm asking a lot, and that I've already asked a lot of you, but I need you to trust me. Please, trust me."

He nodded and took her hands in his, "I trust you."

At that point her parents came into the bathroom to see them sitting on the floor holding hands.

"We need to talk about this." Her mother said and Andre and Tori nodded.

"Just give us a minute." Tori said and Andre helped her stand up. Once she was cleaned up she and Andre made their way out to the living room where Tori's parents were waiting with crossed arms and stern faces.

"Well Tori, you never answered my question. Who's the father?" Her dad asked sternly looking between her and Andre.

She didn't know what to say, it was like she was frozen and everything was in slow motion. If she told them it was Beck, then Beck would have to know and Jade would kill her baby.

"I am." Andre said grabbing her hand and swallowing hard. Tori just stared at him.

"Tori?" Her mother asked analysing the look on Tori's face.

Tori couldn't think. Was Andre doing what she thought he was doing? Was he sacrificing himself to give her an out? After all, this wasn't something you could take back. This was for life. She looked him in the eyes. As she looked in them she saw that he knew what he was doing. He knew what he was giving up to help her, but he was going to do it anyway. For her.

She turned to face her mother, "It's true." She said and squeezed his hand. She'd never been so grateful to have him as a friend and she was sure she was going to spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to him. But that was okay. Because right now, without even knowing it, he'd saved her child's life.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry its taken me so long to update, I should have another new chapter up soon though. :)_


	10. Poker

The next few days passed in a blur. Tori's parents had decided that there was no point in keeping Andre at an arms length any more, considering they thought he was going to be the father of Tori's baby. They'd asked him to move in with them, telling him that if he wanted to help raise the baby there was no point not to. That also meant Andre and Tori sharing a bed. When Tori had imagined herself sharing a bed with a boy, it hadn't been like this. She loved Andre to death, he was her very best friend in the whole wide world, but she did not want to be sharing a bed with him. He snored in a way that was quiet but still loud enough to keep her awake, her moved in the bed every time she was close to getting sleep and he was a little bit of a blanket hog. Since he started sleeping next to her she'd been able to get almost no sleep. It was funny how when he'd been on the floor she'd been able to ignore him better, maybe it was because his snoring hadn't been as close to her.

She sighed. Whenever she'd imagined herself sharing a bed with anybody it had always been Beck. She'd always imagined him kissing her hair, holding her close to him and making her feel safe and loved. She'd always wanted it to be more than this. But Beck wasn't here, he wouldn't be here as long as Jade was around. Unfortunately there was very little Tori could do about that, Jade held all the cards. Tori was helpless when it came to the safety of her baby, she would do whatever it took to keep it safe. Even if it meant giving up thing she wanted most in this world, giving up the person who made her whole. She looked over at Andre's sleeping body. "Thank you." She whispered even though she knew he probably wouldn't notice. She would be forever thankful for whatever force made Trina ill at her showcase. If Trina hadn't have been ill she wouldn't have met the love of her life or her very best friend in her whole wide world. Granted, she wouldn't be in the situation right now, but she wouldn't have made a different decision that day. She knew that much.

* * *

That morning Andre bounded down the stairs full of his usual energy. He was far too energetic for a Saturday morning, Tori thought grouchily as she shuffled into the lounge and dropped on the couch. Or maybe that was her sleep deprivation talking, she thought with a small smile. "You know what I was thinking?" Andre asked cheerily as he came to sit down next to her, "I was thinking we should invite Beck, Jade, Robbie and Cat over to play poker. If your up to it, that is." He added on hastily.

Tori didn't like the idea of Jade hanging around her house but she couldn't say no. She knew Andre was still wondering what had happened to make Tori change her mind about Beck, it was a subject Tori was fervently avoiding, and any aversion to Jade now would definitely ring alarm bells. "That sounds like a great idea." Tori said with fake enthusiasm, "It would be nice to hang out with them all again."

Andre smiled, "And I was thinking," He paused and seemed to think about something before continuing, "I was thinking that we should tell the others about the baby. Its time they knew you were pregnant. Besides, if we want people to believe I'm the father, we can't just stop at your parents."

Tori sighed. The idea of telling her friends wasn't the thing that she found daunting. The idea of telling her friends with Jade in the room looking all victorious and self-satisfied was something she found daunting. Nauseating even. She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to hold off another round of morning sickness before she could answer.

"I know you're scared," Andre said grabbing her hand, "But everyone is still going to love you and if its Beck your worried about, don't be. We'll make him believe us, everything will be alright. I promise."

"Thanks Andre." She replied squeezing his hand when she was sure she wasn't going to be sick. She'd known this would have happened sooner or later, but it didn't exactly make it easier. It didn't make her want to give Jade that kind of satisfaction. But really, what other choice did she have? She couldn't risk the life of her baby, she just couldn't. "We'll tell them as soon as everyone's here, and we'll tell them together."

Andre nodded, "Alright. I did think a united front would be better anyway."

"Same," Tori said with a fake smile. How the hell was she supposed to get through this? Everything was just so messed up...

* * *

As soon as the last few people arrived Tori and Andre decided to gather them all in the living room. Tori's parents had gone out to give them some privacy and hadn't said much to Tori other than they wished her luck. Other than taking her to the doctor and forcing her to get a test to make sure she really was pregnant, although it was pretty obvious she was, they really hadn't said much to Tori since finding out. But she read the disappointment all over their faces when they looked at her, it absolutely killed her.

She snapped herself back into focus when she realised everyone was staring at her and Andre. From what she could tell Andre had just finished setting up the explanation of their news leaving Tori with the easy task of saying, "I'm pregnant. Andre's the father." As clearly as she could. She was holding onto Andre's hand tightly for support as she gauged their reactions. Robbie and Cat looked stunned, Jade looked startled yet triumphant and Beck looked like he was trying to work out an extremely complicated puzzle. "Are you sure?" Beck asked being the first to speak. Tori knew what he was asking, are you sure Andre is the father?

But she decided to answer the obvious answer to the question instead. "Yep. We went to the doctor the other day and everything, I'm 100% pregnant."

"No offence Tori, but that kind of explains a lot. You've been acting kind of weird lately." Robbie interjected from the side in his usual geeky way. He didn't have Rex with him today and for that Tori would be eternally grateful, she would not be able to deal with the wise cracking puppet on top of everything else today.

"None taken." She replied with a small smile, "What's your excuse?"

"Hey!" He shouted indignantly and everyone laughed. It felt good to laugh and it was something that Tori hadn't really done in a while, so she savoured every second of it.

"Who wants to play poker?" Andre asked and everyone jumped up and ran over to the table.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Beck asked and Tori looked back at her friends. Jade was the only one who noticed they hadn't moved over with them and now her eyes were fixed on Tori.

"Meet up upstairs later." She whispered and walked over to the table. She wasn't going to get Beck to believe Andre was the father without even talking to him. She needed to convince him it was true.

* * *

Tori waited anxiously as Beck made his way up to her room. "Sorry, I couldn't think of a decent excuse for a while." He said as he closed the door gently behind him. "What's going on Tori? Why can't we just talk like normal people?"

"Nothing is going on." She assured him and thought bitterly that she should be getting an Oscar for this. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You know what." He said seeming to have been successfully diverted, "Is there a chance I could be the father of this baby?"

"No."

"I don't believe you Tori." He said and shook his head, "Have you and Andre actually ever had sex?"

"Of course we have, he is the father of my child. Turns out you're not the only friend of mine I made a drunken mistake with."

"How close together are they?" He wondered aloud, "Could it be possible that you've got it wrong?"

"No." She said with a shake of her head, "The dates match with him, not you." She couldn't take this much longer, she thought as Beck searched her face, she was going to crack. She was going to break down and cry, she didn't want to break down and cry. She couldn't afford to. If she did Beck would know that something was wrong and she couldn't let that happen.

"Oh." Beck said and he looked... disappointed? How could he be disappointed? He just got out of become a teenage dad. "Are you two together now?"

"No." Tori replied truthfully, "We're just friends. But we are going to raise this child together."

"Let me help." Beck pleaded grabbing her hand and stepping forward so that his face was close to hers. "I don't care if its not mine, I want to help you raise it."

"What about Jade?" Tori asked an she saw indecision flicker in his eyes.

"I...I don't know."

"You said it yourself that you can't leave her, that she needs you." Tori said driving the knife further into her heart.

"I know." Beck said. But in that moment it seemed as though he couldn't control himself. In that moment it was as if the world had faded away and nothing mattered except the three of them here in this bedroom. Beck, Tori and their baby. In that moment it didn't matter about Jade West or anything else, in that moment all Tori could feel was love as Beck pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

_A/N: I hope that Bori moment made up for the lack of it in some chapters haha . Thanks again for all the reviews. Its nice to know that people are actually reading this, when I posted it I thought I'd be lucky if one person read it, so thank you very much. :) _


	11. Catchphrase

Tori felt like she might spontaneously combust right then and there. Her knees trembled and as Beck held her closer to him it was like there was nothing else in this world but the two of them. She didn't want there to be anything else either, she was so in love with Beck Oliver it hurt. He was kissing her as if they were the last two people on the earth, as if Jade, Andre and the others weren't waiting for them downstairs. Her hands were fisted in his hair and she was holding him to her so tightly that she was sure she was hurting him, but he didn't say anything. He just held her back as tightly and kissed her passionately. Tori didn't want it to end. She didn't want to say goodbye to the feeling of Beck's lips on hers. They were rough and soft at the same time, and he was kissing her passionately but Tori would tell he was still trying to be careful not to hurt her. One of his hands was tangling in her hair and the other one was resting on her back, balled up in her t-shirt holding them closer together. It was about then that her mind cleared enough for her to form a sensible thought, she couldn't be doing this, not when she'd been trying so hard to separate herself from Beck. Not when Jade had made such threats against her that she just could't ignore them.

"We can't." Tori whispered when she pulled away from Beck. His eyes were on fire and his face was flushed. He sighed and clenched his jaw as he let Tori go.

"I know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have. But its okay, I didn't mind."

"So be with me." Beck pleaded and grabbed her hands in his. Tori's heart lurched painfully as she shook her head. She was very aware now of the fact that Jade could walk in any minute and she couldn't risk that.

"I _can't_." She said hopelessly, "Besides, you're with Jade. You can't do this to her."

He sighed again, "I know."

"How about we forget this ever happened?" Tori suggested, even though it was the last thing she wanted.

"I feel like that's beginning to be the catchphrase of our relationship."

"What relationship?" Tori asked with a laugh.

"Haha." Beck said sarcastically, and they both laughed. It wasn't a happy kind of laughter, at least not for Tori anyway. It was the type of laughter that was the only thing you could do to keep from crying.

"We should go back down stairs." She said and Beck nodded slightly.

"Okay, I'll leave first. Just give me a minute." He said as he walked into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom to fix himself up. Tori hadn't actually noticed how flustered they both looked until then. As Beck left the room she fixed herself up and tried to control her emotions. Okay, so maybe that Oscar was going to be a little further away then she thought.

* * *

Everyone left Tori's house at around 4 pm and Tori had to fight the urge to run up to her room and bawl her eyes out. She couldn't believe she'd come so close to getting everything that she'd ever wanted from Beck and she'd been forced to turn it down. "Are you okay?" Andre asked appearing behind her and giving her a small fright, "You look like crap."

"Thanks Andre," She said sarcastically as she turned to face him, "That's just what every girl wants to hear. Remind me why you're single again?"

"I'm single, because I'm pretending to have a baby with you and not many other teenage girls want to deal with that baggage."

Tori blanched, all humour drained from her, "I'm sorry Andre."

He laughed, "I wasn't complaining Tori. This is important and I plan to be there for you, even if you don't want to tell me everything that's going on."

She hugged him, "Thank you so much Andre. You;re the best friend anyone could ever have, _ever."_

_"_I know." He replied as if it should be obvious, "You should go take a nap or something. You look like you're about to fall over."

"Okay." She sad and gave Andre one final squeeze before she let him go and went to get some much needed rest.

* * *

It was dark when Tori woke up and Andre wasn't next to her like she'd thought he'd be. As she made her way downstairs she saw that nobody was home. Two notes were stuck to the fridge, one from her parents and the other was from Andre. Both of them told her that they weren't going to be home for a while. She sighed, she hadn't been alone in the house for a long time and after the day she had she wasn't sure it was the best thing for her. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV hoping to take her mind off of her current situation.

* * *

Beck got up from the couch in his trailer when he'd heard someone banging on his door. He'd been lying there thinking about Tori, he'd been thinking about how much he loved her, how much he wanted to kiss her again, how much he wanted to hold her and never leave her side... and that was when the knocking began. He knew it was Jade without even having to be told and he ignored her at first, hoping she'd go away. He knew it wasn't right for him to go that, especially considering what she was going through at the moment, but he couldn't help it. He just wasn't in a mood to deal with her crap, not when he was so damn confused about Tori. She was pregnant for Christ's sake! And to her best friend in the whole wide world.. and Beck had still kissed her... even when he was supposed to be with Jade. He groaned and put his head in his hands. How the hell did things get so messed up? He wondered as the knocking became louder. Soon the knocking became banging and Beck couldn't take it any more, he got up from his couch and pulled the door open. "What?" He asked angrily and then blanched, all anger washing out of him.

"Jade!"Beck shouted as he reached out to catch her. Her legs gave out as soon as the door was pulled away from her and Beck felt like he was going to throw up. He'd never seen Jade in such bad shape in his life. She was covered in blood, her face was swollen and she was covered in cuts and bruises that were just beginning to form. Beck held her tightly and dragged her into his trailer where he laid her down on the floor as he called an ambulance.

"Jade, what happened? Was it your father?" He asked his arms tightening around her when he got off the phone. Jade shook her head. Her eyes were closing slowly and Beck knew he had to make her keep them open. "Jade, listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. Now talk to me, what happened?"

"Tori..." Jade whispered and Beck straightened at the mention of Tori's name. Was Tori hurt too? Did whoever did this to Jade hurt Tori too? Suddenly Beck felt like he was going to explode, the thought of Tori someone hurting Tori made him feel murderous.

"Tori," Jade began again in a whisper, "She... she attacked me."

With that Beck's rage disappeared and was replaced with disbelief. "What? Are you sure?"

Jade nodded, "It was her. I saw her face."

"She wouldn't do something like this."

Jade eyes began watering, "She did Beck. She did this to me. She told me she wanted you, she said she was sick of having to pretend like nothing ever happened and it would be easier if I just went away. _I don't want to go away._" Her voice became desperate as she finished speaking and tears fell from her eyes. Beck held her as she cried until the ambulance arrived and as they sped off towards the hospital, Beck didn't know what to believe.


	12. Alibi

Tori shivered as she walked home that afternoon. She knew her parents would be waiting for her when she got home. To say they were unhappy about Tori getting arrested was an understatement. On top of everything else going on with her lately, Tori knew they were having trouble dealing with this too. She couldn't really blame them though. What parent wouldn't be going crazy after learning that their daughter was pregnant and was now being accused of attempted murder? Tori shuddered as rage washed over her. She couldn't believe Jade would really go this far, would really do this to her. But Tori got the message now, she understood loud and clear: stay away from Beck. So that was what Tori was planning to do.

Jade had cornered Tori in the bathroom today about the kiss. She'd just been released from hospital but that didn't mean she looked any less menacing to Tori, in fact she looked worse. Regardless of her appearance Jade wasn't someone you would like to meet down a dark alley. During the confrontation Tori realised that it wouldn't be enough to just keep her baby a secret from Beck. No, she soon realised that she'd have to stay away from him all together. Otherwise she'd probably be having this baby in jail and she _couldn't_ let that happen. She just couldn't.

So now she'd have to stay away from Beck, not that it really looked like it was going to be all that hard. He'd barely spoken to her after he'd found Jade and hadn't said a single word to her when he found out that the weapon used to attack Jade was in Tori's locker and was absolutely covered in Tori's finger prints. She knew Beck should be the least of her concerns right now, considering that she didn't even have an alibi for the time Jade was attacked, and the evidence against her was pretty solid. She knew she should be worried about the fact that if Jade wants her to, Tori could wind up in jail. She could have years of her life taken away from her, could have her baby taken from her, and all she could think about was Beck.

But Beck wasn't the only one who reacted this way, not that Tori could blame them. After all, she didn't have an alibi, her fingerprints were found all over the assault weapon that was in _her locker_ and Jade's blood was found all over _her clothing_. Jade had Tori right where she wanted her; alone, scared and in serious trouble. Needless to say the only person who hasn't shunned her throughout all of this has been Andre. Even with the amount of evidence that is stacked against her he doesn't believe a word of it. She still doesn't know what she did to deserve a friend like him, but she'd be forever grateful for him.

Even though Andre's support was a big help to Tori, he wouldn't be able to help her with this one though, she knew that. She knew that the only way to get out of this was to get Jade to drop the charges, and she was going to do that anyway she could. Right now though, it meant staying away from Beck; for good. She'd tried just being his friend but it hadn't worked. This was the only way she was going to keep her baby, and herself, safe. It wouldn't be hard do considering Beck was avoiding Tori now like she had the plague and wasn't acknowledging her very existence any more. Tori couldn't believe she would attack Jade, that she could ever hurt _anyone_ like that, but even she had to admit the evidence against her was pretty concrete. Tori didn't know how Jade had been able to plant that evidence, but she knew she would try never to cross the other girl again.

Tori sighed as she walked up her driveway. She was late, she'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she'd forgotten that she was supposed to be home early for dinner. Her parents were waiting for her when she got home. They were standing by the bench with their arms folded across their chests and Andre was sitting down at the dining table looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Where have you been?" Her mother demanded sternly and Tori shrugged.

"Nowhere, just school and then I walked home."

Her father sighed, "Your mother will be picking you up from now on."

"What? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"So getting yourself pregnant and assaulting another girl, almost killing her, is doing nothing wrong?"

"Oh my god! I know I'm pregnant, but I didn't assault Jade! I would never do anything like that!"

"Really Tori? Because evidence doesn't lie." Her father interjected sounding every bit the police officer.

"And I suppose your daughter does?"

"I never would've thought so, but honestly, I really don't know any more." He said harshly, "Your mother is going to take you to and from school, no objections." At that he and Tori's mother decided to leave the room, leaving their dinner untouched.

* * *

Tori collapsed onto her bed later that night and Andre lay next to her gently. "I'm sorry about your parents." He said and turned on his side so that he was facing her. "They're just having trouble believing any of this. Usually, Trina is the one causing them trouble.. they're so used to you being the good daughter, the drama free one. They're having a bad enough time dealing with the fact that they're going to be grandparents, now you're being accused of attempted murder. They're angry and I know its hard but you have to remember that they love you. You're they're daughter and they don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Tori sighed, "I know, but I wish they'd just have a bit more faith in me."

"They're trying to, just give them time." He replied as he wound his arms around her.

"I will." She replied as she collapsed into his hug, suddenly extremely tired.

"Maybe things will be better in the morning."

"Maybe." Tori replied although she didn't really believe it.

* * *

_A/N: I sincerely apologize for not updating this for a while. I've just been so busy with school, work and some unsavoury personal dramas and haven't been able to update. I hope you guys are still actually interested in reading this story, because I'm still interested in finishing it. I'll try to find time to update more frequently :)_


	13. Sinjin

As Tori walked into Hollywood Arts she really wished that she was anywhere else. She was every bit the social outcast she was before, but worse. It took her a while to realize why but she soon realized it was because Jade was beginning to talk to people about the attack. It was like she was trying to rub Tori's current situation in her face and turn even more people against her. No one beside Andre had said two words to her and to say she was getting sick of being treated like this was just about the understatement of the century. It was as she was walking to her locker that she realized something that made her feel incredibly stupid. The small little silver security camera was hanging on the wall by her locker like a little silver beacon of hope. She let out a small "Oh!" before she turned around to try and find Sinjin.

"Sinjin!" She called and the boy froze in fear.

"Hey Tori," he said uneasily as he turned to face her and pressed himself into the wall as if he was hoping that it would consume him completely.

"I need your help with something." she said, grabbed his arm and tried to fight off the nausea she felt as and led him away.

* * *

"Remind me why we're here again?"Sinjin asked as she led him into the security room. There was a seat in front of a monitor and she all but threw him into it.

"I need you to bring up the footage from the night Jade was attacked." She said and he nodded slowly.

"Okay." He said before he typed something into the keyboard and brought up the footage.

Tori couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was her! Her face, her clothing, her hair, it was her! She couldn't believe she was seeing herself walking into Hollywood Arts with a black bag on. She was wearing the clothes the police had found in Tori's bedroom with Jade's blood on it. She watched as this version of her pulled out a metal bat and put it in locker. She smiled with a grim satisfaction as she walked closed the door to the locker and walked out.

"This is impossible!" Tori shouted, "I was sleeping when this happened! There is no way that is me."

"Maybe you were sleepwalking?" Sinjin interjected fearfully.

"Do I look like I was sleepwalking?" She threw back harshly and gestured to herself on the footage of herself that was running in a continuous loop."How the Hell is this possible?" She muttered and Sinjin didn't say a thing. How the hell had Jade managed to do this? According to Beck's statement Jade was at Beck's trailer bleeding out on the floor.

Tori was just staring at the screen in her desperation. How the hell was any of this possible? Not even Jade West could be in two places at once. So how did she do it? Tori knew that the person on the screen wasn't her but... it was getting harder and harder to be sure that she didn't do it. Was it possible she was sleepwalking? Did she attack Jade? She'd never been so unsure of anything in her life. She didn't know what was going on any more. If the person on the screen wasn't her and it wasn't Jade then who was it? How did it look like her? Unless it was her... "Oh my God." She groaned and put her head in her hands. "How is any of this possible?"

"You really didn't do it did you?"

"No. Well.. I don't know any more... how am I there when I was in bed sleeping? None of this should be happening."

"Hey... wait a minute." Sinjin said and paused the video. "Do you see that?"

"See what?" Tori asked and looked at the screen.

"You.. or whoever it is has a limp. It's small but its there." He said and then freeze framed the video. He zoomed in on the leg of the Tori on screen. The jeans were ripped just enough to show a cut on the left thigh. "You don't have a scar there do you Tori?" He asked and Tori felt like she could hug him.

"No." She said and even pulled up the left leg of her jeans to prove it.

"Also, the person in this video is wearing gloves. But your fingerprints were on the bat, it doesn't make sense. If your fingerprints were already on it why would you bother?"

"Stop the video. Zoom in on the person's neck." Tori said as he started the video again. Sinjin did as he was told. There was a line between the skin of video Tori's neck and her clothing. It was faint and hard to see, but it was there. Tori felt like she could cry of happiness. She had proof that the evidence had been planted on her!

"Why would Jade want to set you up like this?" Sinjin asked seemingly outraged.

"To keep me away from Beck." She muttered and Sinjin just looked at her, "I'll explain later."

"Okay." He typed something into the computer and entered a bland CD into the disk drive, "I'll burn a copy of this and take it down to the police station. It will probably be better coming from me otherwise it may look like you've tampered with this. I'll leave now before anything else happens."

"Thank you so much Sinjin!" She yelled and did something that surprised both of them. She threw her arms around him and hugged him hard.

When she pulled away from him he was blushing like crazy and hastily gathering his things. "No problem Tori." He replied as he took the CD out of the drive and put it in his bag. "I'll see you soon. Remember not to say anything about this to anyone until I can get this to the police."

"Okay." She replied and he left the room. It was then that her hormones got the better of her and her tears of joy overwhelmed her.

* * *

As usual the sense of relief Tori felt didn't last for long. As she was leaving school that day she noticed something that would haunt her for the rest of her life. There was a crowd of people in the Hollywood Arts car park and flashing lights out on the street. Tori pushed through the people and came up to stand beside Andre. "What's going on?" She whispered as she tried to make sense of the scene in front of her. There was a fire truck and an ambulance out on the street beside what looked like a heap of twisted metal. It was like someone had taken a bunch of metal from the junk yard and laid it out on the street. "There's been an accident." Andre said solemnly, "Sinjin was involved in a hit and run."

"Sinjin?" Tori asked and felt her knees begin to shake. The wind felt like it hard been knocked out of her and she felt sick. Her heart was pounding in her chest and it felt like it was actually trying to leap out of her ribcage.

"Yeah. They're trying to get him out." Andre replied quietly.

Tori looked around. Cat and Robbie were next to Andre and Beck and Jade were next to them. Everyone seemed horrified about what had happened, everyone except for Jade. She was standing there with a cold calculating look. When she realised Tori was staring at her she gave her a small smile and a look that said: _'See Tori, this is what happens when you tell people.'_

The tears of joy Tori felt earlier welled up into tears of dread, horror, guilt and desperation all at once. As she looked back at the scene she knew that there was very little chance that Sinjin was going to make it out of this alive. It was then she knew that she couldn't involve anyone else in this, she had to stop Jade West on her own...


	14. Scar

"Sinjin?" Tori asked as she walked into his hospital room. She'd fought tooth and nail to get her parents to let her come see him and right now they were waiting outside like she thought she was going to come in here and do something evil. "I'm so sorry this has happened to you." She said as she approached the unconscious boy on the bed. She sat down in the chair next to his bed and tried to control herself. "I'm sorry Jade did this to you. But I wont let this happen again, okay? I'm going to figure out a way to stop Jade. I wont let her hurt anyone else again. I promise." She grabbed his hand and tried to ignore the fact that she had no idea how she was going to stop Jade. Jade was too cunning, too malicious and she was always a step ahead of Tori. But she had to try. She owned it to Sinjin, she owed it to Beck, she owed it to her baby, to every victim of Jade's, but more importantly she owed it to herself. She knew she'd have to be careful with what she did and how she did it, but she couldn't keep letting Jade get away with this. She knew it was going to be dangerous, but she knew she had to try. She _had _to. "I'll fix this okay? I just need you to wake up. I'm so sorry Sinjin." She apologized again feeling like she could never say it enough. She took a minute to collect herself and then she stood up from the chair beside his bed. She knew her parents would be in here soon to see what was taking her so long and she wouldn't give them any reason to be more suspicious than they already were. As she left the hospital that day she still didn't really know what she was going to do about Jade, but she knew where she could start. She had to find the girl with the scar on her left thigh.

* * *

Andre was waiting for them when Tori and her parents got home. "How is he?" Andre asked sitting up from his position on the couch. He was on his laptop typing away furiously at something that he closed as soon as they got in the door. Tori would have to ask him about that later. "He's still unconscious they're unsure whether he's going to wake up or not."

"Do they know who did it?" He asked Tori's father and he shook his head.

"No. We're no closer to finding out who did it. All we have is the truck used, it was found outside of the interstate but other than that we have absolutely no idea."

Tori sighed heavily. She couldn't stand this any more. She knew who did this to Sinjin but she didn't have any proof. And honestly, who would believe her? With all the accusations against her and all the proof, who would believe it if she even tried to tell them that Jade was the one who did this to Sinjin? No she'd just have to deal with this on her own. Suddenly she felt very very tired. "I'm going to go lie down." She said dully before she climbed the stars to her room.

* * *

Jade West smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. Things were going exactly how she planned them. Sure Tori was beginning to be difficult but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She had her right where she wanted her. No one was going to believe anything she said, ever again. As she applied her make up for the day she couldn't help but think about how much money could accomplish. Did people actually think that she would have actually been beaten up by Tori Vega? Tori was a weakling who wouldn't be able to squash a fly, and there was no way she'd actually do this to herself. Hasn't anybody ever heard of a bribe? She'd taken the money from the various stashes around her house and bribed the doctors at the hospital. The best part was no one would ever know. Her father would never notice the money was missing and if the doctors ever decided to say anything.. well, she had ways of shutting them up.

She laughed as she redid her bruises to make them look ugly and disgusting, all she had to do was act sore and no one would ever know the difference. Tori Vega had never stood a chance against her and she never would. Jade West was a force to be reckoned with and that was the way she liked it. No one ever stood a chance against her.

"Jade?" Beck asked and knocked on her bathroom door.

"Yeah?" She asked as she packed up her make up and made sure she looked terrible.

"Open the door." He said and she sighed.

She cut her wrists quickly and held her scissors up in plain view before she placed them carefully on the sink. She opened the door slowly and found Beck standing on the other side of the door staring at her in disappointment.

"Oh Jade," He groaned, "You promised me you'd stop this."

"I know and I'm sorry. But I can't get this out of my head. I can't stop feeling helpless, like everything is out of my control. Between Tori and my father I just... I just need something that I can take control of.. I feel so helpless all the time Beck. I hate feeling helpless."

Beck pulled her into a hug, "I know, but there are other things you can do to deal with this Jade. You need to stop this before you hurt yourself."

"I know." She sobbed. She knew exactly how to pull on Beck's heart strings. She was just lucky her father was out on another one of his business trips.

"Let's clean you up."

"Okay." She replied as Beck started to wipe her cuts with antiseptic. To anyone else the antiseptic would've stung but Jade was used to the pain, she liked the pain,she thrived on it, and as Beck cleaned her up she was in pure bliss.

* * *

It was 9pm at night and Tori had just figured out what she was going to do. She was going to prove Jade West had set her up. But first... first she had to go over to Cat's house to work on their new assignment from Sikowitz. She had snuck out of her house and Andre had been kind enough to cover for her, and now she was walking up Cat's driveway.

Tori knocked on the door quietly not wanting to wake Cat's parents up and waited there a while before Cat opened the door.

"Hey Tori." She said her red hair up in its bouncy up do. "Come in!"

"Shhh! You might wake someone." Tori chided.

Cat laughed, "Nobody's home silly! My parents are at the hospital with my brother. He's being re-admitted."

Tori blanched. How could Cat be so normal about her brother being admitted into a mental institution? Maybe she was just used to it, Tori concluded as she really didn't have the energy to ask. All she could think about was Sinjin and how close Tori had come to being in the clear. Then she thought about Jade and everything she had done to Sinjin and... and she felt sick. She tried to hold it back but it wasn't any use. Tori ran straight for Cat's bathroom.

* * *

Cat entered the room when Tori had finished puking her guts up and put a hand on Tori's head in a gesture of comfort. "Are you okay?" She asked in her singsong voice.

Tori looked up at her through her fringe. "I'll be fine. Just because they call it morning sickness doesn't mean it only happens in the morning."

"That's rough. Want a mint?" Cat asked and held out a packet of mints. Tori took three.

"Thanks." She replied as she popped one of the mints in her mouth and flushed the toilet. As she was getting up she noticed something.. something that sent her heart racing.

"Are you okay Tori?" Cat asked and then noticed where Tori was staring.

"Cat?" Tori chocked out in disbelief. No, no, no... this can't happening! It's not true! A part of Tori kept screaming over and over in her head. But it was, the evidence was right in front of Tori and although she knew evidence lied, she knew this was the truth.

Cat smiled a grim smile, "I guess the secrets out."

Tori couldn't say anything, all she could do was stare. On Cat's left leg, right on her upper thigh, matching the one on the girl in the video, was a scar...


	15. Things

"Cat?" Tori choked out in a strangled voice that was both a mix of disbelief and fear. How the Hell could this be happening? "Whatever Jade has on you it's okay... We can get out of this together Cat. We can stop her." Tori had to stop herself before she started to ramble in her desperation. This couldn't be happening!  
To Tori's surprise Cat started to laugh. Tori furiously blinked back her tears to look at the other girl who was staring at her with steady, if not slightly deranged, brown eyes.

"Oh Tori!" She chimed in her singsong voice and giggled harder.

"Cat?" Tori asked in a quiet voice as Cat's laughter became even more intense.

"Jade isn't forcing me to do anything, Tori. I'm doing this because I want to. Because it's important to my girlfriend."

Tori just stared at her. It felt like forever but eventually the shock of Cat's words was wore off enough for her to speak. "Your not Jade's girlfriend, Cat! She's lying to you. She loves Beck, this whole plan has been to keep me away from him!"

Cat laughed harder and shook her head, "No Tori, your the one who's been lied to. Jade is just using Beck, she uses everyone. Jade West is not capable of being in love. But that's okay, I don't mind as long as I get to be with her." She added the last part with a small shrug.

"Cat!" Tori groaned, "you realize how messed up that sounds right?"

Cat nodded slightly and giggled again, "But that's how we like it."

"If she's just using everyone, then why is she doing this to me?" Tori asked trying another tactic.

Cat laughed again, "Because you're after something she has. Just because she's using Beck doesn't mean she wants you to have him. So she convinces herself that she loves him and tries to be with him, in the hopes that he wont go to you."

"But why? That makes no sense, Cat."

Cat just smiled, "It does actually, if you think about it... Jade doesn't like you, she's never liked you. Now you're trying to take her things, she doesn't like it when people takes her things."

"Beck isn't her _thing!_" Tori spat before she could help herself. Before she could stop and think about what an idiot she was being. She'd trusted Cat, thought she was one of her very best friends, and Cat had been setting her up for attempted murder. Here in Cat's small bathroom she realised just how alone they were and stupidly found herself wondering what else Cat would do for Jade. "Besides, neither are you! You can't tell me you're okay with her and Beck doing God knows what together."

Cat shrugged again, "I don't mind actually. Besides... I have my other endeavours." She smirked and Tori felt something shift behind her. It was then she realised that she and Cat weren't as alone as she thought. She tried to whirl around to face the new person in the room but as soon as she turned her head, everything went black...

* * *

When Tori woke up she couldn't see a thing. Everything around her was pitch black and wherever she was smelt disgusting. It smelt like dirt, sweat and... and blood. Tori thought with a gulp and tried to swallow the bile that rose in her throat due to the rust smell. She silently cursed at her heightened sense of smell due to her pregnancy, whilst trying to take stock of her injuries. She didn't feel hurt anywhere other than her head which was pounding frantically. She put a hand to her stomach and prayed to whatever God was above her that her baby wasn't hurt because of this. "What have I done to deserve this?" She whispered out loud as the first of her tears began to stream down her face. Who would've known a drunken night between herself and the boy she was so painfully in love with would lead her here. But, then again, not everyone had Jade West as the ex you had to compete with.

"You know what you did to deserve this Tori." A familiar voice said and Tori turned her head in the direction it was coming from. The speaker wasn't Jade and it wasn't Cat but it sounded very familiar. Something told Tori the voice belonged to the person who was in Cat's bathroom when Tori was knocked out.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Tori asked on the verge of hysteria. If Jade could almost murder Sinjin in a hit and run and set Tori up for her own attempted murder, who knows what she, or the people that are helping her, are capable of.

"Wrong questions Tori." The voice said again and Tori tried to place it. It was like the answer was right there in front of her, nagging at the side of her conciousness, but every time she tried to grab at it it would escape her.

"Why am I here?" Tori asked the voice her mind desperate to place the voice.

"Because we hate you." The voice said simply, "Because you had to go and take everything and everyone for yourself. Every opportunity, every cute guy, every single fucking thing that someone else wanted that happened to just fall into your lap."

"I don't have anything anyone wants!" Tori found herself shouting, even though she knew it was dangerous, "I'm pregnant to a boy I can never be with because of his ex. The same ex who has framed me for her assault or attempted murder or whatever they're calling it! The same ex who ran Sinjin off the road the other day and is fucking insane! Nobody believes a single thing I have to say any more, my parents hate me, nobody will give me the time of day and most of the ones that do are too afraid of me to tell me to leave them alone. To top it all off one of the people I thought was one of my very best friends is in love with the person who is responsible for all of this and they have decided to kidnap me and hold me prisoner. Remind me again how things are going my way and falling into my lap?"

The voice was quiet. So quiet that for a second Tori thought the person had left. Then the person sighed.

"Look if you hadn't just been so noisy in saying that just now I might have been able to let you get away with it. But I can't." The voice said and Tori heard something being picked up. She heard the speaker take two steps towards her and then the door burst open and the speaker stopped.

"What do you think you're doing?" She heard Jade ask in outrage and Tori didn't know whether to relieved or scared.

"Just punishing the prisoner." The anonymous speaker replied.

Jade laughed a husky laugh, "As much as I'd love to see that, we have stuff to do."

"Alright, I'll meet you out front." The other speaker said and Tori heard someone leave the room.

Footsteps approached her and someone crouched beside her. "Listen to me Tori, everything is going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of this." The voice said and suddenly everything clicked.

"Trina?" Tori asked in shock.

"We'll be out of here soon little sis." Trina replied before she got up and left Tori alone in her cell.

* * *

_A/N: To all those Cat fans out there, don't give up on her yet... I still have plans for her. ;) Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for still being interested enough to read and as always thank you very much for all the reviews. :D_

_Oh & for those of you who are beginning to get confused by this story please know that everything will be explained soon :)_

_Also, those Bori fans who may be getting annoyed because of the current lack of Bori should be pleased to know that there are some more Bori moments on their way.. ;D_


	16. Promise

It felt like hours before anyone came back for Tori. She'd fallen asleep many times and each time she dreamt about Beck. She knew it was stupid with everything that she's learned, and where she is right now, but Beck was all she could dream about. It was nice. It was a welcome break from the nightmare that was her life at this present point in time. Maybe it was her hormones but all she could think about was the way Beck's lips tasted, the feel of his arms around her and the safety that accompanied that feeling. She just wanted to have him wrap his arms around her and be safe, all she wanted was to feel safe. She was sick and tired of living in fear of the monster that was Jade West and her psycho entourage. She couldn't keep doing this, for the sake of her baby... if she even had one at this point. It wasn't a fear she liked to think about but somehow that never stopped her. None of this was particularly good for her or her baby and she would really die if anything ever happened to junior her/junior Beck.

Tori sat up slowly as the door to her confine opened and Trina stepped in. She still couldn't see her sister but she had memorized the way her footsteps sounded different to Cat and Jades. "Hey there baby sister." She said and placed something on the floor in front of Tori, "Here's your daily rations. Jade and Cat are out at the moment."

"So when can we get out of here?" Tori asked thinking that if Jade and Cat were both away, now would be the perfect time for them to leave.

"We have to do this properly Tori." Trina said, "We have to prove that Jade is actually doing this. The proof has to be so concrete that Jade can't twist it around. She's let me in on the rest of her escapades." She clarified sensing the question of Tori's that was sure to come.

"So how did you get on Jade West's inner circle?" Tori asked reaching out to touch the food in front of her. Trina switched on a dim light for Tori to eat her lunch by.

Tori could see Trina's face now and she could see her sister looked sheepish. "After you got chosen for a role that Jade and I didn't we kind of... talked about you. It wasn't nice, but I was just venting you know? Next thing I know she's approaching me offering me a way to get even. So I agreed. But back then I thought she was just talking about a mean prank or something... once I knew what she was planning I knew I had to help you get out of it and try to keep you safe."

"Why?" Tori found herself asking.

"Because you're my baby sister and, believe or not, I love you. You've done things that have pissed me off, I'm sure I've done things that have pissed you off too, but we're sisters. I would never turn my back on you. Now eat up, you're going to need your strength... we're leaving tonight." Trina said before she got up and left the room.

* * *

Tori had no idea what time it was when she woke up later that day. All she knew was that Jade was in the room with her instead of Trina. "Good afternoon sleepy head." Jade said and Tori could just imagine the smile she was wearing on her face. Tori hated the fact that Jade was getting so much satisfaction out of this and she had to keep reminding herself that she and her baby would be out of this soon.

"How long have I been in here anyway?"

"Three days." Jade said tauntingly, "Everyone thinks you've run out on your bail. They're saying its because you're guilty and you want to stay out of jail."

"But, I'm not guilty!" Tori shouted and had to remember to take a deep breath.

"Yeah, well, they don't know that. People are also saying you had something to do with Sinjin's hit and run too. They saw you two go off together and next thing you know he's in the middle of a pile of twisted metal in the street."

"What do you want from me Jade?" Tori groaned, she'd never felt so tired in her life.

"To tell you the honest truth? I don't even know any more. I thought it would be enough for you to keep your baby from Beck, or to stay away from him all together... but honestly I'm finding this whole thing quite entertaining. I've got everyone wrapped around my little finger: Beck, Cat, even Trina!" She shouted with a cackle. "I'm having so much fun I'm not even sure I want this to stop, but at the same time I'm wondering what I'm going to do next. What more can I do? I've isolated you, taken the person you love from you, made everybody think you're a criminal... what more? I could torture you, kill you, kill your baby..." She trailed off and giggled a high pitched giggle.

Tori stayed silent. To say she didn't like where this conversation was going was an understatement. A part of her was hoping that if she was silent enough, if she was still enough that Jade would forget she was there. She should have known better.

"But no, I don't know. I kind of like the idea of Beck being a father after all... just as long as I get to be the mother." Tori could hear the smirk in her voice.

She remained silent and put a hand over her stomach. If Jade thought she was getting her hands on Tori's baby, she was kidding herself.

"What about Cat?" Tori asked sensing movement off to the side of her cell.

Jade laughed, "Oh please Tori. Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her. It's brilliant."

"So you're using her?"

Jade didn't say anything, but that was answer enough for Tori.

"You don't love her?"

"No." Jade said quietly, Tori knew she was waiting to see where Tori was going with this.

"Do you love Beck? Or are you just using him too?"

Jade sighed, "I'm doing all of this _because_ I love Beck. The fact that its fun is just an added bonus."

"If you love him so much, why can't you do what's right for him? I mean, have you ever considered that you're not right for him?" Tori asked knowing she was treading on dangerous ground. She was waiting desperately for Trina to come in and rescue her.

"I will always be the best thing for him." Jade said dangerously and Tori knew she'd overstepped the line. "It's you who isn't right for him Tori, you and that stupid baby of yours!" Jade shouted and Tori heard the sound of metal clanging, as if someone was picking up a metal beam or bat.

Tori was just about to reply, but the witty retort she was going to make turned into a scream as Jade brought the metal down on her leg.

* * *

Tori's screams echoed out through the area they've been keeping her captive in and as Jade started pummelling her with the metal she found herself curling in on herself to protect her baby and her head. She gritted her teeth together and tried not to cry as the searing sensation of pain overwhelmed her. Where the hell was Trina? She wondered as the pain became more intense. She was too weak to fight back, all she could do was try to protect her baby as best she could.

I'm going to die, she thought as the beating continued and Tori felt her limbs getting heavy. She felt her mind starting to wander and drift and all of a sudden she was kissing Beck again. He was holding her and telling her everything was going to be okay. That she was going to be safe, that their baby was going to be safe, that they were all going to be okay and they were going to get through it; together.

Tori felt a tingling sensation in her limbs and suddenly the pain was gone and everything was thrust into the light. She heard a scream which was followed by people yelling and the sound of people running around, but Tori paid no attention to them at all. As she lay on the ground she could feel her blood leaving her body, she could feel her limbs relaxing and the pain in them fading. It was like she was just drifting away... but something pulled her back.

A pair of arms slid underneath her and hoisted her up off the ground. The brief moment of pain it caused was enough to bring Tori back into herself and she fought to open her eyes. As she did so she could've sworn she was dreaming.. but, no. Even in her dreams Tori had never been able to do justice to Beck's model like face. "Beck?" She asked her voice shaky and weak.

"Shh." He said as he smoothed her hair off of her face, "Everything is going to be okay now Tori. I've got you, we're going to get through this, I promise. I love you Tori. Its always been you."

"I love you too Beck." She replied blissfully and couldn't really tell whether she was dreaming or not any more. "Listen, there's something I have to tell you."

"Shh. It's okay, Andre and Trina told me everything. She's never going to hurt you again okay? You, or our baby." He said and started carefully trying to manoeuvre them towards the appropriate authorities.

"But there's things they don't know." Tori objected feebly, her responses were even harder to force out now.

"I know and we can talk about all of that later all right? We just have to focus on getting you out of here."

"So you don't hate me?

"I could never hate you Tori."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

The last thing Tori saw was Beck's face before the darkness swallowed her.

* * *

_A/N: I know this chapter is a little longer than the ones I usually write, but I saw no point in splitting it all up. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)_


	17. Hope

Beck hadn't slept in days. Tori still hadn't woke up since he pulled her up off of the warehouse floor and he hadn't even heard anything about their baby. Man, he was going to be a father! He still didn't believe that he was going to be a daddy. Before when he'd been told all he could think about was rescuing Tori, but now the reality of it all was beginning to set in. He couldn't believe Jade would do this, would have done any of this. He couldn't believe he'd let Jade play him so easily, he felt like such a fool. He felt like punching something. He couldn't believe how much had been kept from him and how many people had been forced to lie to him because of Jade.

He sighed. _Jade_. How had she got so damn crazy? It was a good thing Trina hadn't been sucked into their plan and had called the police. If she hadn't of Beck knew that Tori would be dead right now. Everyone would've thought that Tori had run away because she was guilty of assaulting Jade and no one would've known that she was dead. Beck shuddered. This whole thing was so messed up. All he knew was that he wouldn't be leaving Tori again, not if she didn't want him to anyway. He had to be there for her, and be there for their baby. He couldn't let her be alone any more than he had. He was just thankful to Andre for being there for her when Beck wasn't. Even if the amount of unyielding devotion Andre showed Tori was a bit disconcerting to Beck, he'd always be indebted to the other boy for everything he did for Tori. He glanced over to at Andre who was still sitting in the same seat he'd been in since they brought Tori into the hospital. Had Tori noticed the way he stared at her? Did she realise that maybe Andre wasn't just interested in friendship? Honestly though, why else would he have been to inclined to help Tori when he knew almost nothing about the whole thing? Beck tore his eyes away from the other boy, he didn't want to think about this now and after everything that happened he wasn't sure if he was allowed to.

"Hey." Trina said as she sat down next to him and held out a cup of coffee from the hospital vending machine.

"Hey." Beck replied quietly, "Thanks." He added and took the coffee gratefully.

"Any news?" Trina asked and looked towards Tori's room.

"Nothing. They're not telling me anything." He looked sideways at her, "Thank you... I know we may not always talk, and everyone always gives you crap but you're amazing, you know that? No matter how much you two fight, you were there for her when no one else was. If you hadn't of risked your life, bugged the room Tori was being held in, and called the police when you did, she'd be dead right now.. So would my baby. Thank you Trina, I'll never forget this."

"Its fine." She said with a shrug, "I figure it makes up for all the shitty things I've done to her in the past." She gingerly took a sip of her coffee and Beck did the same. Though he was grateful for what she did, things were still awkward between them. He had a feeling they always would be. Neither of them spoke as they sat there staring into Tori's window.

She was pale. As pale as Beck had ever seen her and he bump in her stomach seemed to, even though it was small, swallow her whole. She was still breathing but the doctors had said that she could stop at any second. They'd told him that even though she was stable now, there was still a chance she may not make it out of this. He clenched his fist together and tried to control his rage. He could kill Jade. He didn't care that she was sick, mentally of course, he wanted to make her suffer for everything she'd done to Tori, and to him. And what about Cat? A voice inside of Beck whispered, Would you kill her too? Beck didn't know. He didn't know because somehow it was easy to believe that Jade would do this, but not the sweet little Redhead that was Cat Valentine. Beck would've never thought she could do this to anyone. Ever. Beck sighed and looked around. Trina had gotten up during his internal monologue and had gone to talk to her parents and fill them in on everything. He sighed and laid his coffee down on the seat next to him. When had things gotten so bad? How had one little baby had the power to ruin them all. Beck was just happy that Robbie's mother had kept him away from the hospital, Beck was in no mood to deal with the drama that usually followed the boy and his puppet. No doubt Rex would make some tasteless joke about the whole situation that would make Beck was to shred him into little pieces.

* * *

It had been a whole week and Tori hadn't so much as stirred. Andre still hadn't moved from his spot in the waiting room and Beck was beginning to get antsy. Why wasn't she waking up already? They'd said she was stable and she should wake up quickly, but now she showed no sign that she was going to open those beautiful big brown eyes ever again. He'd never hear her sing, never hear the sound that touched his soul and made him feel like everything was going to be okay. He'd never be around her warmth again, never again be around her and think that maybe life has a meaning after all. That his life has a purpose. He needed her more than she'd ever know and now he may loose her forever. They'd already had so much time taken from them, and now they may never have a chance to make up for the lost time. To be together. He couldn't take it. He felt like he was going to scream. He wanted to die. If Tori died, if their baby died, he would die too. He knew he would. He had nothing to live for anyway. His mother was dead, his father was never around, Jade was crazy, half their friends had betrayed them, if he lost Tori and their baby now he didn't know what would happen. He didn't really want to find out either. He took a deep breath. He couldn't think like that, he couldn't afford to think like that, if he lost hope now he really would have nothing left.

He still couldn't believe Jade had done this. He'd trusted her completely, even _loved _her at one point in time, and she'd turned out to be completely bat shit crazy. They'd had her tested when she was arrested and it turns out she is not only an obsessive compulsive liar but she also has Bipolar I. It means she switches constantly between mania, or sometimes hypomania, and depression. It explained all of her mood swings, erratic behaviour and all the little things Beck had noticed; her lack of need for sleep, her constant hypersexuality, even her cutting. It explained why she did what she did and why she was able to do it so well. She really couldn't have controlled it, but that didn't mean Beck was going to forgive her. Last time he'd checked, which had been a while ago, she'd been on her way to the Abilene Psychiatric Centre in Taylor County Texas. Hopefully, they'd be able to deal with her crazy, thought Beck who didn't envy those nurses one bit. As for Cat, well she was still here in this very hospital. Apparently there hadn't been enough reason to move her away from her family, as she hadn't been as active in the whole thing as Jade had. Beck had thought about going to go and see her, after all they'd been friends once, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it just yet. He needed to be sure Tori and his baby we're going to be okay, or else he wasn't sure what he was going to do or what he'd be capable of. "You can go see her now." The doctor said and Beck looked up at him.

"Thank you." He murmured and went into Tori's room.

* * *

He grabbed her hand and was startled by how warm it was, with how pale it was it looked like it should be freezing but it was very warm. With that one touch Beck almost believed that she would make it through this, that she would be okay. "Tori?" He asked in a whisper and could feel the tears beginning to well up in his eyes. He knew it was stupid, and that he had every reason to cry, but he was glad his back was to the window. "Tori, I need you right now. I know I haven't been there for you or our baby in the past, but I want to be there for you two now. I love you both, more than I could ever say and I just need you to wake up right now. I need to know you're going to be okay. Your safe now, Jade will never hurt you again okay? I promise I will never let her hurt either of you again, I'll keep you both safe. I promise." He sighed and looked at the still girl on the bed, he loved her so much it hurt. "Please, please, _please_ wake up Tori. _Please. _I can't live with out you Tori, either of you." He was crying now and as he looked at Tori now he thought he must be imagining things. There was a tear running down the side of her face. "Tori?" He whispered and though she made no more movement, that single tear was enough. It was enough to give him hope.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry its taken so long, but I'm back! ;) I should be updating a little more frequently now. Again, sorry about the wait. :D_


	18. Princess

Tori was still asleep. Andre wanted nothing more than for her to wake up. There was still so much he needed to tell her, so much that he was going to tell her before all of this but never got a chance. Now he may never get one. He needed Tori to know how he felt about her, even if she didn't feel the same. He knew she'd been hung up over Beck, but that didn't mean he'd stopped hoping. No he'd hoped upon hope that there may be a sliver of a chance that she may feel the same. He missed sleeping next to her at night, missed the smell of her hair and the sound of her breathing in time with his that always helped him fall into a peaceful slumber. He missed her smile and the way that, no matter what she was going through, she remained strong and was always able to light up the room. He missed everything about her, even the things she didn't like about herself, and he just wanted her to wake up. Whether she chose him or not. He just wanted her to be okay, he wanted her to be happy. And while he would miss the idea of raising a child with her he was glad Beck knew about the baby now and all the lies were out there. Because if everything was out in the open, Jade couldn't hurt Tori any more and if that was the only silver lining in this situation, he would take it. He would accept anything that meant she would be okay, that there was a chance she could be happy. Now all she had to do was wake up.

Beck was still in Tori's room with her, he'd stayed in there all of last night and had been in there all day today. Andre would've liked to be sitting in his place, especially after everything that had happened between him and Tori, but Andre just didn't have the heart to move the other boy. He loves Tori too. He'd only stayed with Jade to stop her from killing herself or doing something stupid and in a weird way he'd been a victim of her schemes too. Now that Jade was locked up, there was nothing to stop Tori and Beck from being together when Tori wakes up. They could be a family, a real family and while Andre felt bad that he may get in the way of that he knew this would eat him alive if he didn't say something to Tori. He loved her. Just as much as Beck did, maybe even more, and he'd chosen her from the beginning. That had to count for something right? He thought so, he just hoped Tori would too.

* * *

Beck hadn't moved from his chair. He was waiting for something to happen. For Tori to move, to stir, to wake up. He kept talking to her. Pleading with her, making deals with her, but she didn't move. She was still except for the rise and fall of her stomach to show she was breathing. "Tori?" He asked again though his voice was raspy from talking too much. "Tori, I need you to wake up now. Please wake up? I'm not sure how much longer I can stand this. I don't know if I can take much more of seeing you like this. I hate seeing you hurt and I need you to wake up. I have to know that you're going to be okay, that your _both_ going to be okay. Can you do that for me Tori? Can you wake up? For me?" Still no response. He bowed his head, leaned his forehead against her arm and took a deep breath. Nothing he was saying to her was making any difference. She wasn't going to wake up because he asked her to, that was stupid and a part of him knew it. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply until he fell into a surprisingly deep sleep.

* * *

Cat Valentine woke up to the white walls of her hospital room. She hated this place. All she wanted was to be with Jade, but Jade had abandoned her. She'd heard everything Jade had told Tori in her cell. Cat was supposed to be out getting everything ready so they could leave, but she'd left her brother's watch on the desk outside of the cell. She'd gone back to retrieve it and had heard them talking.

'_Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.'_

The words repeated themselves over and over in Cat's head. It was all she could hear, like the thrumming of a drum it was pulsating through her mind haunting her and taunting her. She'd given everything to Jade, done everything Jade had asked of her and more, and Jade had just been using her. Using her to get what she wanted, Beck. She'd never even loved Cat! It had always been him and Cat was stupid to think otherwise. She was stupid to think that someone could love her. Nobody did. Her brother was too crazy to love her properly, her parents didn't care about either of them and were always jetting off to some different location to get away from them both. All she'd had was Jade, and Jade had betrayed her. No doubt the others knew all about what she did now. They knew what she'd done for the love of Jade West and they probably hated her too. She hated herself, so why wouldn't they? She was pathetic. A pathetic excuse for a human being and she deserved everything she got.

'_Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.'_

_'__Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.'_

'_Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.'_

_'__Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.'_

Cat felt like she was going to scream. The words Jade had said to Tori that night kept running through her mind. No matter what she focused on she couldn't make them stop. It was like Jade was tormenting her, even though she was no where near her. Cat could feel her heart breaking as the relentless loop of the words continued. She wanted to die. She deserved to die. After everything she'd helped Jade put Tori through, after all the wrong she'd done, she deserved to die. Her heart was beating frantically and she covered her ears as the monitor she was hooked up to began to beep very loudly and very quickly. She rocked back and forth in her bed, drew her knees up to her chest and tried to control her erratic breathing. She was crying now and she felt like she was going crazy. She vaguely heard the door opening but found she couldn't concentrate on anything but the sound of Jade's voice.

'_Cat's an idiot. She's an idiot who's stupid enough to believe I could ever love her and insane enough to do whatever I ask of her.' _Was the last thing she heard before she could feel the drugs taking over her and everything went black.

* * *

Beck awoke slowly and when he did he noticed that the sky outside Tori's window was black. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked at her. She looked as peaceful as ever, still sleeping. "Tori?" He asked again, as he always did. "Tori please wake up." He pleaded even though a part of him was beginning to give up. It was the same plea he always made, and nothing ever changed. "Please Tori." He pleaded again even though he knew his pleas were falling on deaf ears. "I need you Tori. I need you here with me, so does our baby. I love you Tori, please please wake up. _Please._" Still nothing. Beck sighed and took her hand in both of his. "Look Tori, I know you may not be able to hear me right now, but I just want you to know that I'll be here for you. I'll always be here for you. I'll wait for you to wake up and when you do I'll be there for you and for our baby. You hear me? I love you Tori Vega, and I will never leave you again. All you have to do it wake up. Just wake up Tori. _Please."_ Beck couldn't control the tears that were flowing from his eyes, he was pretty sure this was the most he's ever cried, as he stood up and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were soft and warm and all Beck could think about was how much he loved her and their baby, and he wanted them to be a family. A proper family.

As he pulled his lips away from her's and opened his eyes, he saw something he had not expected to see. Tori's eyes were moving under her eyelids and then suddenly, they sprung open. "You promise you'll never leave me?" She whispered hoarsely and Beck smiled his first real smile in a long time.

"I promise." He replied happily and kissed her again. This time she kissed him back weakly but passionately and as Beck pulled away this time he couldn't help but think of how Tori reminded him of his own sleeping beauty. His princess. She was here now, she was alive, and she was his. He didn't want to ruin the moment but he knew he had to call for a doctor, so he did. But even through the flurry and the commotion that came about when people had realised that she'd awakened, Beck held true to his word and he never left his princesses side, not once.


	19. Honesty

Tori groaned and sat up in her hospital bed. To say she was sore, is a severe understatement. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. She'd been told very little about anything since she'd woken up and the doctors had said that was because they didn't want to overwhelm her by telling her everything too soon. But that was ridiculous. All she wanted to know was where Jade and Cat were, what was going to happen to them and if the police knew the truth. Did they still think she was a criminal? Or was her name cleared? Were she and her baby safe, or would Jade come back and finish her off? At least she knew she had Beck now, a part of her tried to use that fact as comfort but the rest of her now only worried about his safety. How was it fair of them to keep the truth from her? Was making her worry really better than 'overwhelming' her? Tori felt like she was going to be sick. There were so many things swarming around in her brain, so many things she had to find out and so much that she had to tell people. They wouldn't tell her about Sinjin either, no matter how many times she'd asked about it, they weren't saying a thing to her about it. That just made her worry more. The last time she'd seen the kid he'd been alive, but only just. Could he have died in the time space from when Jade kidnapped her to when she woke up? It was possible, and she couldn't stop fearing for the worse until they told her otherwise. She looked over to Beck's sleeping body and sighed. He kept his promise and hadn't left he since she'd woken up and though a part of her was glad, the other part of her just wanted him to go home and get some rest. He looked terrible. He really did. She sighed again and sank back in her bed, she was getting sick of being in hospital.

* * *

Andre had never been happier to see Tori's beautiful face in her life. He loved those big brown eyes more than he could ever say and he was so glad that they were open again. Although he hadn't had a chance to talk to her yet, as Beck hadn't left her side, he knew he had to. If he kept this to himself any longer he knew he was going to explode. His mother had always told him these types of feelings, even if they seemed like they were hopeless, always had to be shared. If they weren't Andre would always be wondering 'what if'. He couldn't spend his life wondering what might of happened if he wasn't honest with Tori now. He got up slowly from his chair, his limbs stiff from sitting there so long, and walked over to Tori's room. Beck was awake now and the two of them were murmuring quietly when Andre knocked on the door. When Tori saw him her face lit up in a smile that made his heart clench and his stomach twist up for multiple reasons; some good, some bad.

"Can I talk to you Tori? Alone?" He added and looked at Beck. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tori nod and Beck looked at Andre like he knew what this was about.

"Well, I'm going to go and get some coffee." He said although he looked like he'd rather stay with Tori.

* * *

"Hey Tor." Andre said with a small smile as he shuffled into the room and sat in the chair Beck had occupied. He looked at Tori who was still smiling at him.

"Hey Andre." She said and Andre felt his heart clench again. His mouth went dry and his palms began to sweat. Well, nobody said this was going to be easy, but he had to man up and do it.

"Tori, there's something I need to tell you."

"Okay." Tori said and waited patiently. This didn't sound good. In all the time she'd known him she'd never seen Andre look this nervous. What was he going to tell her? Was it about Sinjin? Did it have something to do with Jade? Cat? _Beck?_ His silence was killing her and she was just about to scream at him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm in love with you Tori Vega." He breathed and Tori froze. She didn't know what to do. Her best friend in the whole wide world had just told her that he was in love with her. Normally girls would've been thrilled to be in this situation, but there was only one problem. To Tori Andre was just a friend. She was in love with Beck, she was having his baby and though there had been times where Tori thought her life would've been so much easier if she could've just fallen for Andre, she would never regret falling for Beck. And she would always love him, _not _Andre. As much as it hurt her, she knew she could never love Andre the way he wanted her to. She could never even consider it because of the way she felt about Beck. She had her family now, the thing she'd always wanted, and she couldn't even consider anything else. No matter how much she loved Andre, as a friend.

"Please say something." He pleaded and grabbed her hand. His hands were sweaty and she knew he was scared of what she was going to say to him right now. She'd never seen Andre this nervous over _any _girl before, not even when he'd thought he was in love with Jade.

"I-" She began but found she couldn't speak. She couldn't loose Andre now, not after everything they'd been through. But she couldn't give him what he wanted her to give him. She couldn't love him back because she was in love with Beck. And while a little part of her was telling her that she should try, especially after everything he'd done for her, the rest of her knew it wouldn't do any good. She would just wind up leading him on and that wasn't fair, after everything he'd done for her Andre deserved to hear the truth. No matter how painful it was for him to hear it and for her to say it.

She sighed, "I'm sorry Andre. I don't know what to say... I don't love you back, at least not in the way you want me to. I need you to understand that I want you in my life Andre, and I'll always be thankful for everything that you've done for me, but I love Beck. I'll always love Beck. I always have. I mean, I love you too. But I'm not in love with you Andre. Please try to understand? I can't loose you now, not after everything we've been through."

Andre said nothing. There were tears in his eyes and Tori knew she'd hurt him bad. "It's okay Tori." He replied to her and she had no idea how he was still being civil to her after he'd risked everything for her and she'd still broken his heart. "I understand. I knew the chances of you feeling the same way were slim anyway. It's okay. You're still my girl though right? My best friend?"

"Always." Tori replied and couldn't help the tears that were running down her face. They were both crying now and Andre smiled a small smile at her before he stood up and kissed her on the top of her head.

"That's all I ask." He murmured, stroked his hand through her hair and then left the room. Tori tried to get herself back under control before Beck, or anyone else for that matter, entered the room.

* * *

Andre's head was spinning. He'd taken his mothers advice and while he was glad he wouldn't spend his life wondering what if, the outcome of their conversation hadn't been exactly what he had in mind. She'd turned him down because she was in love with Beck. He knew the chances of her saying that she felt the same were slim, and he still wanted to be friends with her, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hurt. His heart felt like it was breaking and while most guys would've probably been ashamed about crying in public, Andre found that he didn't care. He didn't care about the nurses and the doctors who were giving him weird looks as he walked down the hall. He had no idea where he was going and he didn't care. All he could feel was pain and his pain seemed to be all he could focus on at that point in time. So he continued to walk blindly down the halls and corridors of the hospital, surprisingly uninterrupted, and somehow he found himself standing outside of the psychiatric ward. He swallowed hard. He'd never been down here before, he hadn't even seen Cat since she'd been arrested. They'd been friends once and despite everything she'd done Andre found he actually missed his little Red.

"Can I see her?" He asked the Cat's doctor after he finally found her room.

"You can, but she isn't conscious yet. She had an episode so we had to sedate her."

"What's wrong with her?" Andre asked wondering what the man meant by an episode.

The doctor sighed, "We don't know yet. We keep running tests, but everything we do comes out inconclusive. Just be wary that when she wakes up she may be a little off. We don't think she's going to hurt anyone, she hasn't tried to yet, but just be careful." He warned, "Don't be afraid to push that little green button near her bed or yell out if she does anything." He finished and walked away with his clipboard in his hand.

Andre swallowed hard. He had no idea if, after everything that's already happened today, he could deal with this. He wasn't sure if he could deal with Cat and see her like this, but he knew he had no choice. He was here now, so he may as well get this over with. Besides, she was sleeping. Maybe this whole thing would be easier if she was sleeping.

* * *

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed this. Thanks to everyone for reading and to those who reviewed for the amazing reviews. Also sorry for the lack of Bori moments in this chapter, but there will be some more soon :)_


	20. Red

Andre entered Cat's room with caution to see her lying unconscious on her bed. He looked around the room. While Tori's room was filled with flowers and gifts from well wishers, Cat's room had nothing of the sort in it. While Andre knew that that was probably her own fault, as he looked at her sleeping body she couldn't believe Cat would actually do any of the things they said she did. Looking at her then most of him couldn't believe that she'd hurt Tori the way she did... but then... then a part of him did. He knew what it felt like to try and win the love of someone you cared for. To know that no matter what they needed, no matter what they asked of you, you'd always do your best to satisfy them and keep them happy. He knew, from everything that he did for Tori, the things love made you do. Say he hadn't of loved Tori, say he had of loved Jade. What would he have done then? He asked himself and smoothed Cat's hair off of her face. He didn't know what he would've done. But he knew better than anybody that some people would do anything for the person they loved, even if that person didn't love them back. At least in Andre's case he'd always known that there was a better than good chance that Tori would never feel the same about him as he did her. But Cat had never had that. She'd thought that Jade had loved her back, had thought that she and Jade were actually in some form of a relationship. She'd been manipulated by Jade just like Tori and Beck had, only hers was worse somehow. Jade had managed to turn sweet and innocent Cat into something no one had ever thought she'd be, made her do things that no one had ever thought she'd do. But now as Andre looked at his lil' Red he knew that she could've done those things, he knew she did. But now, he understood why. They were both the same, he and Cat. They'd both done everything that they could to help the people they loved, and they'd both been let down. At least Andre wasn't in a psychiatric ward because of it, he reminded himself as he sat down next to his lil' Red.

* * *

Tori woke up as Beck re-entered the room. She told him about Andre, not thinking it was fair to keep another thing from him, and he'd been surprisingly understanding about it just saying, "I thought so. Besides who couldn't love you?" That reaction was the last one she'd expected from him, she'd thought he would've been mad or at least a little upset. But he just seemed to be understanding about it. When she'd asked him why he'd just told her that he really had no right to be jealous because of everything that happened with him and Jade, every time he hurt Tori by choosing Jade over her. Tori didn't really think that made too much sense but she wasn't about to object because she'd actually rather it if Beck and Andre remained friends. It would certainly make Tori and Andre's already complicated friendship easier if Beck and Andre still got along. Actually the only Beck seemed to be upset about was the fact that in order for Tori and Andre to talk he'd had to leave Tori and break his promise to her. She'd laughed at him and told him that never leaving her didn't actually mean never leaving her alone, it just meant that he wouldn't run off from her again because of any other moral obligations. He'd said that was fair and promised to keep this new variation of his promise, if that even made any sense.

"You're awake." Beck said with a smile and sat back down in his chair.

"Yeah." Tori said and looked around, "Look why can't you tell me what's going on with Jade, Cat and Sinjin? You don't even have to tell the doctors I know."

Beck sighed, "I can't Tori, I wish I could but I don't want to do anything that could risk hurting you."

"Is it really that bad?" She asked and her heart rate on the monitor increased.

Beck just looked at her. She looked back with pleading eyes. "Please Beck? I need to know what's going on. It's doing more harm to me not knowing."

Beck, "Look, you're going to have an ultra sound soon to make sure the baby is okay. I'll tell you then, I promise."

"Okay." She replied knowing Beck would keep his word. But she couldn't shake the bad feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

The doctors put Tori into a wheelchair and before she knew it Beck was pushing her towards the ultrasound room. She took a deep breath and let them hoist her gently onto the bed and lift up her hospital gown. They gave her a blanket to cover her legs, for the sake of modesty, and put the cold gel on her stomach. She was worried about her baby, and felt bad that she'd given it so little thought lately, even if she had had other things going on in her life. She felt bad that she hadn't noticed that she'd hadn't been getting sick and she hadn't felt the baby move or change its position at all since she'd woken up. She waited patiently as the doctor put the x-ray thingy on her stomach and typed something into her computer.

Tori knew from her first ultrasound that they were looking for a heart beat. Her feeling of dread was beginning to spread and she tried as hard as she could to keep herself calm. Apparently they'd done an ultrasound whilst Tori had been sleeping and everything had been fine then, but they wanted to double check and make sure everything was okay with her baby. Beck's face was anxious as he grabbed her hand and stood next to her, his eyes glued to the monitor. She had to remember that he was seeing his baby for what might of been the first time, if he hadn't been present at the other ultrasound that it. Something told Tori he hadn't been as his face was a mixture of anxiousness and pleasure/wonder as he looked at the screen.

"Hmm." The doctor murmured and moved the wand around on Tori's stomach. She typed something into her computer again and moved around the wand some more.

"Is it okay?" Tori asked her voice saturated with fear. After everything she'd had to go through to keep her baby safe, there was no way it could be dead. Tori wouldn't be able to handle it if it were. She was beginning to loose hope, when her ears picked up a thrumming sound coming from the monitor. Her baby had a heartbeat! She felt like she could cry from her happiness. The doctor smiled at her, "Your baby is fine as far as we can tell. It's heartbeat is normal and we can't see any danger for the baby. However at its too early in your pregnancy to tell whether or not the baby has any birth defects as a result of the attack. We'll have to schedule an ultrasound when you're a little further along in your pregnancy to test that. But for now, just rest easy and know that your baby is alive and well."

Tori nodded and while the prospect of her baby having birth defects frightened her, she couldn't focus on that right now. If she did she may never get through any of this, and she had to get through this. She couldn't let the actions of Jade West defeat her, she wouldn't.

* * *

Beck wheeled her back into the room and though she knew she could walk, she wasn't complaining. She was still sore enough as it was without over exerting herself. Once they were alone Tori turned to Beck and knew she had to do this before she lost her nerve. "You promised you'd tell me." She said before he'd even closed the door properly. He closed the door, sighed and made his way back to the seat beside her bed. "Okay. Jade is gone now, she's never going to hurt you again. She's been moved to the Abilene Psychiatric Centre in Taylor County Texas. Cat is still here, I don't really know how she is though, I haven't really checked."

Tori just nodded and took a deep breath. At least she was safe. But why couldn't she shake off the horrible feeling that had settled over her earlier? She wondered and leaned back against her pillows bracing herself for the answer to the question she was about to ask next. "And what about Sinjin?" She asked wryly knowing that Beck was avoiding the subject.

His face was drawn and he looked very tried. Sadness flickered in his deep brown eyes and that was all Tori needed. "No." She whispered but Beck continued on as if he hadn't of heard her.

"He didn't make it Tori. He woke up and was doing fine and then... he was gone. They said it was a blood clot in his leg, that travelled up to his brain and killed him. He's been dead for the past three days Tori. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but they wouldn't let me."

Tori couldn't say anything. She could barely move. Sinjin couldn't be dead! He couldn't! He'd been nerdy and awkward, and really gross sometimes. But he'd also been nice. He'd been there for her when not many people were, he'd tried to help her... and because of that he was dead. She knew it was Jade who caused his accident, but it was Tori's fault he's dead. If she hadn't of involved him in any of this he'd still be alive. It was all her fault.

"Hey, shush, it's okay." Beck said as he stood and cradled her in his arms. It was then she realised she was crying. Once she realised she was, she couldn't stop. So Beck held stayed there with her, held her close and stroked her hair, while she cried the most she'd ever cried.


	21. Splinter

Tori sighed and collapsed into her lounge chair. She'd been out of hospital for a week now, but it still felt weird for her to be at home. She and Beck had just returned from Sinjin's funeral and Beck was now trying to make dinner so he could coax Tori into eating something. But Tori didn't feel like eating, she didn't feel like doing anything any more. Even though she was at home, and had been for a while, she still didn't feel safe. She knew Jade was in the Abilene Psychiatric Centre in Taylor County Texas but that didn't make it any better, Tori still hadn't been able to relax. She didn't know why but she just didn't feel like this whole thing was over yet. Somehow this little week of happiness with Beck felt more like a short reprieve, like the calm before a storm. It was like the feeling she used to get when her family would take her to the coast to go cliff diving. The feeling that spread through her as she looked over the edge of the cliff, right on the precipice of it, and knew that she would be falling soon. She always got that feeling of dread and panic before the adrenaline set in. It was like that now and she didn't really want to know what would come next to emulate the fall. She didn't want this feeling, she wanted to be able to shake it and enjoy the time she was spending with Beck. But she couldn't, no matter how long she waited for it, she couldn't relax enough to actually be with Beck. The feeling of dread she'd been pushing back all week was stronger now and she couldn't do anything about it, nothing but wait to see what happened. Tori didn't like that feeling, she hated being helpless and feeling like everything was out of her control. But no one would believe her. Her parents just told her that she was being ridiculous and that Jade was gone and Beck was trying to be understanding, but Tori knew he couldn't feel it. She knew that according to them she was safe, so why couldn't she feel safe yet? Maybe it was because she knew Jade, had been dealing with this side of her for far longer than anyone else had, and she knew that Jade West didn't give up so easily. Tori knew, deep down, that this whole thing wasn't over yet.

* * *

Andre sighed as he walked into Cat's room to see they'd had to sedate her again. Apparently she'd had another episode, except this time she'd been murmuring the words _'Cat's an idiot. Cat's an idiot' _Over and over again. He didn't know why she'd chosen those words to say, but he figured it had something to do with Jade. He sat down next to her bed and smoothed her hair back from her face. She looked so peaceful, so innocent, it was heartbreaking when Andre thought of the turn his lil' Red's life had taken. Her love for Jade had wrecked her completely and she had no one to be there for her to help her put the pieces together again. Her parents had left to go skiing in the Alps but not before they'd sent her brother away to some institution in Hagerstown Maryland. Nobody who was still here had even bothered to come and see her, not Robbie, not Beck and certainly not Tori, who was still pretty pissed about the whole thing. Andre was all Cat had in terms of moral support, but even he was wondering if he would be enough to bring her out of this. He wasn't sure but he knew he had to try. He wasn't sure why but he'd always had a strange sense of duty when it came to Cat and that sense was telling him that he had to help her now. Besides, it wasn't like Andre hadn't dealt with crazy before. He'd spent his whole life dealing with his grandmother and her mental illness, was still dealing with it now that he was back at home, so he should be good at this right? He still wasn't sure, but all he knew was that he had to try. For his lil Red, he had to try.

It was hours before Cat actually woke up from her sedation. As she blinked her eyes clear she could see Andre was still sitting by her bed. She didn't understand why he kept coming to see her, wasn't he pissed about the whole Tori thing? He should be. Cat thought bitterly and pulled her hand out of his grip as she sat up slowly in her bed. She'd barely talked to him since he came here, a part of her just wanted him to leave, but no matter what she did he always came back. Cat wasn't used to people coming back for her, so a part of her was also grateful to him for that. "Hi." She said no longer bothering with her pretence of a ditzy redhead. She'd only ever acted that way so people wouldn't see how truly messed up she was inside. But considering where she was, she guessed there was no point in that now.

"Hey lil' Red." Andre replied with a smile using his nickname for her. She didn't get that either. Why wasn't he mad at her? She expected him to be a little bit mad at her, or at least stop calling her by a friendly nickname, but he wasn't. He actually didn't seem to be mad at all.

"Why are you here?" She asked, figuring she may as well get some answers to her questions.

"What do you mean?" He asked back and seemed a little confused.

"I mean why are you here?" She repeated, "Aren't you mad at me?" She added with a raise of her eyebrows. Andre just looked at her as if he was trying to figure out how to say something.

"Well, yeah, a little. But you did kidnap and try to ruin the life of my best friend." He said with a shrug, "But I get why you did it Cat, I understand what love does to people. I mean, you're talking to the guy who was set to be a father to someone else's baby, when he wasn't even in a relationship with the mother."

Cat didn't respond. She didn't know how to. Andre understood her? Being understood by people was also a foreign concept to Cat. It was one of the things she loved so much about Jade, the way she'd always seemed to understand Cat, to know what she was thinking and how she was feeling. It was something no one else had ever taken the time to do before, it had made Cat feel special. Now she knew better. So even though she knew deep down that Andre wasn't in the same league as Jade, she was still going to be wary of him. She still felt so bad about Jade, still felt like she was about to die, like every breath was a pain, and she didn't think she would be able to stand it if Andre broke her too. Because that's what she was, broken. It's what she always had been. But compared to this all of this, everything that she'd had to go through before felt like it was just a splinter. This... _Jade..._ Jade had broken her completely and Andre, well, Andre had the potential to shatter whatever was left.

"Hey lil Red, tell me what's going on." He coaxed and she knew he wanted her to tell him what she'd been thinking about. How could Cat even begin to explain the mass bubble of anger, confusion, dread and sorrow that was inside of her head? How could she explain that the one thing that could heal her, _real friendship_ _and love_, could also be the very thing that breaks whatever is left of her? She couldn't. Even though Andre had understood this much, she knew he wouldn't be able to understand this. She doubted many people would.

"Nothing. Just thinking about stuff. Don't worry Dre, I'll be fine." She fixed him with one of her best smiles and he smiled back, seemingly happy Cat used a nickname for him too. He probably thought it was progress, Cat thought absently. "Hey could you do me a favour?" She found herself asking before she knew what she was doing.

"Yeah, anything lil' Red." He replied, his smile still in place and his eyes kind. She knew the risk of opening herself up to Andre now, opening up to anybody now, but she didn't know what else to do. She was so sick of being the broken one. It was time for her to be fixed.

"Could you just sit here with me for a while?" She asked tearing her eyes off of the wall to look him in the eyes.

"It would be my pleasure lil' Red." He said with a smile and grabbed her hand. They just sat there together for hours, and Cat had never felt more at home.

* * *

"I'm going to go over to my RV to get some more supplies. Besides my Aunt called, said she's staying at the house and she wants me to visit tonight." Beck said as he picked up his jacket, "I'll be home soon Princess."

"Princess?" Tori asked from her place on the couch. Since when did Beck call her Princess?

"Yeah." He replied with a small blush, "When you were in the hospital, every time I looked at you I saw Sleeping Beauty, my Sleeping Beauty. My Princess." He came over to the couch and pecked her on the lips, "I'll be back soon Princess."

"Do you really have to go now?" She asked hating the way her stomach plummeted when he said he was leaving. Why was she still so scared?

"Yes. I'll be back soon I promise. I love you Tori."

"Love you too Beck." She murmured and he kissed her once more before he left the house.

* * *

Tori was only slightly ashamed to say that as soon as he was gone she went around the house, which she was now completely alone in. She jumped at every noise and got anxious when any gust of wind would rustle the trees outside of her house, as much as she hated the fact that she did. Her feeling of dread was spreading throughout her body and it was getting worse with every passing minute. She couldn't get Jade out of her mind. It was like she was on every channel of the TV, every station of the radio, every thing Tori did to try and take her mind off of Jade always made her think of Jade instead. It was killing her. "You're safe Tori," She breathed as she tried to convince herself, "Jade is all the way in Texas. If she wasn't you'd know by now, you're okay. Everything is going to be okay. You're safe, she can't hurt you any more. She can't hurt _us_ any more." She took another deep breath and tried to clear her head of all thoughts of Jade.

"Are you really sure about that?" A voice asked and Tori jumped up off of her chair in the lounge.

"Jade?" She asked and felt like she was going to be sick. Her body was filled with a tingling sensation and Tori knew that this was not a friendly visit. No, Tori knew Jade was here to finish off what had happened in the warehouse.

"What are you doing here?" Tori asked even though she knew she didn't need to.

Jade just smiled...

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting. You guys are amazing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I should have more up soon. :D_


	22. Talk

"How did you get in here?" Tori asked and then swallowed hard. She'd made sure she'd shut every window and made sure everything was locked up.

Jade smiled "Why Tori, I never left."

"What the hell does that mean?" Tori asked and suddenly felt very nauseous. She took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control, now was not the time to get sick. Her legs felt weak, her palms were sweaty and she knew deep down that there would be very little chance of her getting out of this alive. But she had to try, for her baby and for Beck.

"It means it's a funny thing what money can do Tori. How it can change lives, or make people disappear."

"What?" Tori asked numbly, what the hell was Jade talking about?

"As of now Jade West is dead, her body lost at sea. She had a tragic incident while being transported back from her scheduled day trip. Her two counsellors were found alive and well and even though Jade's body is still missing, they can confirm her unfortunate demise." Jade laughed, "their car skidded right off the road and into the ocean, can you believe that?"

Tori couldn't speak. Her mouth was bone dry and her feeling of dread was almost over powering her now. She had no idea how she was supposed to get out of this when she could barely keep herself up right. Jade smiled, "But even if they don't quite believe I'm really dead, it'll be far too late for them to do anything. You'll be dead by the time they put it together and I'll be long gone." Jade's smile grew menacing and she took a step forward. "You should've just left Beck alone Tori, none of this would be happening if you hadn't of been stupid enough to go after him. You should've listened to me Tori but you didn't and now you and your baby are going to die."

"You can't do this Jade, you wont get away with it." Tori hissed trying desperately to keep it together.

Jade just laughed a cruel laugh, "Oh please Tori! I've never cared about getting away with this, although it would be nice, all I've ever cared about is ruining your life and then killing you."

"Please! Please don't kill me. If you do my baby will die and this isn't it's fault. Please?" Tori knew she should've been ashamed for begging, that she should've been trying to find a way out, but she couldn't help it. She knew Jade West, had seen first hand what the other girl was capable of and she knew deep down that she would never be able to defeat her. The feeling of dread that she had before had turned into hopelessness and Tori felt very cold.

Jade kept her smile in place as she said, "I know. But I only have a small window of opportunity here and I need to make the most of it."

Tori shook her head. This couldn't be happening! She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the way her legs were slowly turning into jelly.

"I've been waiting a long time to do this Tori," Jade continued as she stepped forward, "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this. Now I finally get my chance, I can't let a silly little thing like a _baby_ get in my way. Besides it might be best if we didn't have another Vega running around, after all you and Trina didn't turn out so well."

And it was just like that. Just like that Tori's hopelessness turned into rage. Her hands clenched, her knees suddenly felt strong and it felt like her whole body was vibrating in rage. "No." She heard herself say in a voice she didn't realise was her own. "I'm not going to let you hurt my baby." She warned and right then her voice sounded cold and deadly. Resolution settled in her stomach and suddenly she wasn't afraid anymore. Her mind cleared and suddenly all she could think about was getting out of the room and getting Jade away from her. She knew then that she would do whatever she had to to keep her baby safe.

Jade was staring at her with a steady blue gaze that sent chills throughout Tori's body. Tori knew getting out of this wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't impossible. Tori took a deep breath. Okay. It was okay, she could do this. So with that thought in her mind, she lunged towards the kitchen.

Tori's hand grasped the black handle of the butcher's knife just as Jade caught up with her. She swung the blade around in Jade's general direction and Jade reared back swiftly. "Come on Tori." Jade said with a big smile. It was almost like she found this entertaining. "You know you can't win. It'll be so much better if you just give up now, I promise I'll kill you quickly."

Seriously? Jade thought Tori's only option in this was to be killed quickly?

"Fuck that." Tori murmured quietly to herself, but some how she knew Jade had heard her. Tori wasn't going out without a fight.

Jade seemed to realise this too because suddenly she was charging at Tori.

* * *

Tori turned and ran to try and create some space between Jade and herself. When she'd grabbed the knife she hadn't given herself much space to fight Jade. Now she had space to make a sufficient attack, but as she turned to face Jade she realised she'd already made her first mistake. She'd turned her back on her enemy.

Jade's fist collided with her jaw and Tori stumbled back from the force. Okay, so she wasn't used to being hit. Sue her. Tori took advantage of their proximity to reach up with her arm and slash the knife across Jade's chest.

Jade gasped as she looked down at herself and Tori used that her opening. She charged at Jade with her knife, intending to bring it down into Jade's neck. But Jade was prepared for her attack and brought her arm up to hold Tori's knife in the air between them. Jade kicked out at Tori's stomach, at Tori's baby, and Tori gasped in pain. The air had been sucked out of her lungs and her eyes filled with tears. "No." She choked as she realised that Jade was going to keep hitting her in the stomach. Tori kicked out at Jade and was able to separate herself from the other girl, but she lost her knife. Tori was almost doubled over in pain and she just prayed to whatever god might be listening that her baby was going to be okay.

Jade just smiled as she flexed the knife in her hands and Tori looked around. There was nothing around that Tori could make a makeshift weapon out of. Well, nothing Tori would know how to use anyway. "I commend you for trying Vega, even though it was very stupid. Maybe you're not as spineless as I thought. It doesn't matter however, because I'm still going to kill you." With that Jade sprang for Tori and tried to bring the knife down into her chest.

Tori used one arm to block the knife from colliding with her heart and used the other to grope around for something. _Anything._ She hand closed around something cold, hard and pointy and Tori felt a slight sliver of hope.

"The problem with you _Jade_." Tori sneered, "Is that you talk too much."

Her words had caught Jade of guard. "Wha-" Jade began but Tori didn't give her a chance to finish. Instead she picked up the instrument - the picture frame? - and brought down hard into Jade's flesh.

* * *

Jade gasped and veered back from Tori. She dropped the knife at Tori's feet and grabbed at the picture frame Tori had impaled in her shoulder. Tori was no fighter, she never really had been, but she knew now that this was her chance. She swiftly picked up the knife at her feet and, though it felt hot in her hand, charged at Jade.

Or at least, she tried to.

She'd almost made it there when Jade screamed a feral scream, "Veeeggaaa!" And then she saw Jade moving.

It was one of those moments where you know what's going on but everything is happening too fast for you to actually do anything about it. Tori saw it when Jade grabbed the vase, but hadn't been able to do anything about it.

And then... Then everything went black.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry its taken me so long to update. I've been debating how to write this. But here it is, more will come soon :)_


	23. Thud

When Tori opened her eyes she was staring at a blank ceiling. But the ceiling was... moving? She groaned slightly and someone laughed. She had the vague sensation of being pulled, or dragged more like it, but she didn't quite know why. What the hell was going on? She looked around. She really was being dragged, by... Jade? What the hell? She wondered and then everything came flooding back to her.

Oh. Oh!

Why the hell wasn't she dead? Where the hell was Jade taking her? It was no where in her house, that was for sure.

"Where are you taking me?" Tori asked weakly and Jade laughed.

"You when you were unconscious I was thinking about how I was going to get away with this. I know I said I didn't care about that, and I still don't really, but I thought it would be best to have an escape plan." Jade smiled at her over her shoulder before turning her attention pack to the path in front of her.

As far as she could see, which wasn't really all that far, the corridor was long, blank and horrifyingly empty. Something told Tori that if she screamed for help down here no one would hear her.

"So then I was thinking. If Beck comes back to find you dead everyone will know it was me, they'll know I'm not really dead. I need to make a clean escape from this." Jade continued and then grunted as she readjusted her grip on Tori's legs. "So, what if you just left? I've been watching you over this past week Tori and your behaviour hasn't exactly been sane. You've been jumping at every noise, becoming more and more paranoid as the days go by. What if this all became too much for you and you just decided to run away? I wouldn't put it past you, and I'm sure the others wouldn't either."

Tori could tell Jade was smiling, could hear it in the other girl's voice. Tori shook her head, took a deep breath and looked around. There had to be some way for her to get out of this, to escape Jade at the very least.

Suddenly Tori could see a shape at the end of the corridor. It didn't stand out much as it was the exact same colour white as the walls surrounding it, but Tori knew that it was a door. She also knew that she didn't want to go into that room. If she went into the room, she would never come out. She knew it.

* * *

Jade slid the door open slowly only releasing her grip on Tori's legs for one second. She'd only taken one hand off of Tori's legs and that was all she'd needed. Tori ripped her legs out of Jade's grip and then kicked out at her. Jade fell through the door and into the room in front of her.

Jade hit her head on something, a bed, it looked like to Tori and then spun around. Tori was already on her feet and moving towards Jade. She was planning on shutting Jade in the room, to try and contain her, but it didn't really work out that way. As Tori moved towards the door handle, Jade moved towards Tori with something metallic in her hand. It happened too fast to process what had happened, but after they struggled a little a pain shot straight through Tori's arm. Tori sucked in a breath of air and reeled back from Jade in pain.

Jade had stabbed her!

She'd fucking stabbed her!

Tori couldn't believe it, but she didn't have time to think about it either. Before she knew it Jade was surging at her again, trying to get Tori while she was vulnerable. Tori didn't know what came over her. Suddenly adrenaline was pumping through her body, making her pain obsolete. Tori pulled the knife out from her arm, just as Jade lunged at her.

They collided in the middle of the door threshold and they were both struggling against each other for a while before Jade gave up. Instead she began to pull Tori into the room, Tori didn't want to go into the room but Jade was just too strong. Before Tori knew it she was being trust up against the wall and the knife was being knocked right out of her hand. Her head smacked back against the white painted brick wall and stars dance in front of her eyes. Her head began to spin and Jade shoved her up against the wall again. Her head smacked into the wall a second time and Tori knew Jade was trying to knock her out, it was working too.

Tori kicked out at Jade in desperation and Jade's legs buckled beneath her. They were both sent tumbling to the floor and Tori's eyes searched for her knife. Her whole body felt like it was on fire but she couldn't concentrate on that right now. Her eyes filled with tears as she bit her lip and pushed the pain back. She scrambled for the knife and kicked out at Jade who was trying to hold Tori back from the knife and get to it first.

They were grappling on the floor now and neither of them were winning. Jade was definitely stronger than Tori, but Tori was desperate and her body was flooded with adrenaline. Who knew what she was capable of?

One thing was certain though. Both of them were injured. They were both still hurt from their fight at the house and Tori didn't know how much longer either of them were going to be able to keep this up. This has to end now, Tori thought as the grappling continued. She had to get to that knife. So with that she head butted Jade and sent the other girl flying backwards.

Of course, that motion made Tori's already sore head spin even more and Tori had to take a few deep breaths before she could even begin moving for the knife. But she got it, as soon as her hand clasped around the black handle and she picked up the knife, that was still covered in her blood by the way, she knew she had a chance.

Jade was getting up from the ground now and Tori was following her motions carefully waiting for her opening. "You're not really going to use that Tori." Jade said sadistically, "You don't even know how to use it. You're dead Vega. You hear me? You and your stupid spawn are _dead!"_ Jade shouted the last part and spread her arms wide.

That was the opening Tori had been waiting for. She lunged forward, putting all of her weight and strength into the attack, and brought the knife down right into Jade's chest. She felt the knife slice past Jade's flesh, go right past her sternum and her ribs and lodge itself straight into her heart.

Jade let out a small gasping sound and her lips formed a small "Oh" shape. Her eyes went wide and she looked down at the knife. Blood was pooling around the knife and she collapsed to the floor. She was gasping frantically and tears were running down her cheeks.

It was a strange thing seeing someone die because of you. To have been the thing that killed them. It almost made Tori sad. _Almost._ She had to remember that this girl was not worthy of her sympathy or her sadness. She was the girl who had been after Tori and her baby for months, the girl who had turned her friends and family against her, made her out to be a criminal, had led Cat on and forced Trina to kidnap her, this was the girl who _murdered_ Sinjin. She was not worthy of Tori's sympathy. Still, it wasn't a nice sight to see.

Suddenly Jade screamed. Tori snapped into action as soon as she could see what Jade was doing. Jade wasn't giving up on killing her just yet. As weak as she was, as close to death as she was, all she cared about was seeing Tori dead. Jade got to her feet.

* * *

Tori reached for the door and had just closed it when Jade's hands closed around the handle on the other side of the door. Jade was trying to yank the door open, she was _still _trying to kill Tori. There was a lot of pulling and pushing and it went on for what felt like forever, but couldn't have been more than a few seconds with Jade's current condition. Despite that though, Jade was still _strong._ But she was getting weaker.

Soon enough the pulling stopped.

Tori heard a small _thud _from the other side of the door but was almost too afraid to hope. She stood frozen outside the door with her hand on the handle waiting for what felt like forever. In fact she was only able to move when Jade's blood pooled out from underneath the door and soaked Tori's feet.

Tori opened the door slowly to see Jade lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Jade's blank eyes were staring up at Tori and Tori couldn't hold it together anymore. She collapsed on the floor near Jade and cried. She cried because she was hurt, because her baby was hurt and because _she'd killed someone._ Yes, it was Jade that she'd killed but that didn't make it any easier. This was something that Tori would never be able to take back, a sight she would never be able to un-see, it would haunt her forever.

When she ran out of tears her eyes began to droop shut. She had no idea how much time had passed, she didn't know if anyone even knew she was down here, but she couldn't control it. She was safe now right? Jade was dead and she was safe. For the first time in a long time she was safe. Something in her mind told her to stop being stupid, that she was still hurt and she wasn't really safe just yet, but the rest of her was beyond listening. All she could do was smile as the darkness swallowed her.


	24. Cabin

When Tori opened her eyes she hadn't moved at all. She guessed she'd been out for a while though considering Jade's blood was now dried up on the floor and Jade was beginning to smell. She sat up slowly and pain shot through her entire body. Everything hurt. Her head, her arm, her legs, her stomach. Her blood covered the floor too, although not as much as Jade's, and Tori felt faint. She looked around. She knew she had to leave now, she had to get help. But it didn't make it hurt any less. She took a deep breath and used the bed to help her hoist herself to her feet. As she did so she caught a glimpse of a tray of medical instruments. Things like scalpels and other... torture devices? Were on a silver tray near the bed and Tori instantly felt less guilty for killing Jade now that she realised what the other girl had planned for her.

She shook her head. She couldn't stay down here and concentrate on this any longer. She had to get help. So she stepped cautiously over Jade's lifeless body and stumbled down the corridor. It seemed to stretch on forever and Tori felt herself getting weaker. She couldn't feel the pain her body anymore, she just felt numb. Numb, cold and weak. Her eyes were bleary eyed and she realised she was crying again.

All she could think about was her baby. How would this affect her baby? Was her baby still even alive? After everything that had happened, after everything she'd been though to protect her child, she knew that if her baby died so would she. She knew that if she lost her baby she wouldn't be able to function, even with Beck supporting her. She would be a lost cause. So that was why she was making her feet move, even though every inch of her being was begging her to lie down again, was begging her to give up. She was doing this for her baby.

* * *

When Tori had finally finished climbing the steep steel spiral stairs that she'd taken forever to find, she found that after pushing open a metal trap door she was in a cabin. It was dark and the only light was coming from the fireplace. Tori had to resist the urge to go and sit in front of it and get warm. She pushed herself up out of the trapdoor and shut it behind her, all too glad to get out of that horrible corridor.

She pushed herself up into a standing position and made her way towards the door. Her movements were sluggish and her limbs felt like they were made of led. But she pushed on anyway, she had to. She edged out of the door and looked around her. She was surrounded by trees on every side and it was night time. The air was thick even though the temperature was cold and Tori swallowed hard, how the hell was she supposed to find her way out of this?

After what felt like forever Tori was out in the woods. The woods? She wondered as she looked around. Exactly how long had she been knocked out for? Because she didn't think she was in Hollywood anymore. But then, where was she?

She walked around in the forest for what felt like forever searching for her way out. Her body was cold, she was feeling more than a little faint now and she was hyperventilating. It's okay Tori. She told herself, You'll make it out of this. But even she didn't believe that. Everything was so dark that she could barely see two steps in front of her and her feet were freezing. Her arm was killing her and she was just glad it had stopped bleeding for the moment. She wished she'd been smart enough to find something to bandage it with back at the house but she didn't, and now it was too late. Because there was nothing around her but trees and she wouldn't risk winding leaves around her arm in case of an infection. She'd also wished she'd actually gone to those first aid classes her father had tried to send her to instead of choosing that stupid painting class she could barely even finish.

Okay. Tori sighed and then took a deep breath. This was not the time to be thinking about any of that. None of this was making things any easier for her, in fact it was just distracting her from her already complicated surroundings. So she pushed all thoughts out of her head and numbly walked on forward.

Her feet were killing her by the time the trees in front of her started to thin. She stepped in the direction of the thinning trees and smiled faintly to herself when she saw a road in front of her. It was a winding road that lead down to the city and Tori felt hope blossom in her chest, maybe things were going to be okay after all.

* * *

Beck was driving. He hadn't stopped driving since he'd seen Tori's note. He knew she hadn't run away, he knew she would never do that to him. But Beck didn't really like the other alternative either. If Tori hadn't run away, then the chances are she was with Jade and if Tori was with Jade... Well, Beck didn't really know what would happen. He only knew it wouldn't be good.

The police aren't doing anything to help as they say it didn't sound like she was in that much trouble in her note. Besides a bag with her clothes in it are missing, but that wasn't really saying that much to Beck. He knew how Jade worked, knew she liked to be thorough. It didn't matter that she was supposedly 'down in the bottom of a watery grave' to everyone else, Beck wouldn't believe she was gone until he'd seen her body.

He should've just listened to Tori. He thought as a pang of guilt overcame him. He should never have left her alone the other night and maybe then none of this would be happening. Beck drove faster.

He'd been able to convince Trina, Andre and Tori's parents to go out in their own cars and look for her too, but he hadn't heard anything from them in hours. He was heading for Jade's cabin now, it was the last place he knew to check that the other's hadn't already. He just hoped she'd be here, if she wasn't Beck didn't know what he was going to do. He still hadn't heard from the others, still hoped that was a good sign, but to say he wasn't more than a little worried would be a lie.

He drove up the winding roads at a pace that was fast enough that he didn't feel like he was going to slow, but was also slow enough that he could still take in his surroundings and keep his eyes open for anything. He needed to find Tori now, he _had_ to.

He hated to admit it but as the night grew darker, his hope receded. He was almost at the cabin now and he still hadn't seen Tori at all. He hadn't heard anything from the others in hours and he was still hoping that that was a good thing. He sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He only had a few turns left and a small walk towards the cabin and then he would get his answers. Anticipation welled in his stomach and he took a deep breath. He was almost there. Almost there. He kept telling himself sternly as if that would make him feel any better.

He was so concentrated on getting to the cabin that he almost missed it. _Almost._

Someone was walking down the road, or stumbling rather, and Beck squinted. Was it Tori? He wondered and slowed down to a crawl. The person kept walking slowly, it was almost like they were afraid of Beck stopping. He could make out brown hair but the person's face was shrouded by the darkness. The person looked like they were having trouble keeping themselves up right and Beck was about to turn away - as much as he hated to leave a person in need, he had to find Tori -when his headlights lit up the silhouette of the person's face.

"Tori!" Beck yelled and hit the brakes. He put the parking brake on and jumped out the door as Tori turned around.

* * *

"Beck?" Tori croaked hoarsely and walked toward him. He was rushing towards her with his arms open.

"Tori!" He shouted and she could hear the relief in his voice. Relief that was mixed with panic, obviously he'd seen the extent of her injuries now.

"Beck." Tori whispered with a smile. She still felt cold, unbelievably cold, and very tired. Her legs gave out just as Beck's arms closed around her, her eyes rolled back in her bed and everything went back. She seemed to be passing out a lot lately, but she'd been through a lot, so sue her.


	25. Aftermath

When Tori woke up she was in hospital. Man, she hated this place. She thought groggily. If she spent anymore time here she'd probably have to start paying rent. She groaned silently. Everything hurt. Her whole body was throbbing and she blinked to try and clear her vision; her head was spinning. It must be the drugs, she thought her mind seeming to take everything in as if it was standing there watching instead of actually feeling. There was a sharp pain in her shoulder and when she looked down she saw that her arm was bandaged up and in a sling. She got a brief burning sensation and she remembered the feeling of Jade's knife sliding under her skin. She shuddered and looked around. Her eyes rested on Beck. He was asleep in the chair next to her and his hand was on hers. He looked terrible, absolutely terrible. She took her hand out of his gently and sat up. The motion made her world spin again and she put her hand on the side of her head.

"Tori?" She heard Beck whisper and realised she must've woken him up anyway.

"Sorry." She apologized and he just smiled.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed and smiled wide. He still looked like crap though, Tori noted.

"Is our baby okay?" Tori asked her voice still weak and groggy.

The smile wiped from Beck's face. His eyes were full of sorrow and he grabbed Tori's hand. Tori's stomach sank. Beck was silent, like he was trying to figure out how to say something.

"Beck _please."_ She begged and tightened her grip on his. If anything happened to her baby Tori would literally die.

"I don't know." He whispered, "They haven't told me anything, they haven't told anyone anything. I think they're still waiting for something."

Tori's mouth went dry. She felt like she was going to be sick. What could they possibly be waiting for? Either her baby was okay, or it wasn't.

"How long have I been out?" She asked quietly, her voice barely working.

"About three days now. You had me so worried Tori." He added the last part after a moment of silence, "You almost died. When I found you you just dropped to the ground," He swallowed hard, "And you'd lost so much blood. I thought you were dead."

"I'm sorry." Tori said alarmed by the look on Beck's face. It was one of worry, desperation and slight horror. His eyes were in a far away place and it was like he wasn't even in the room with her anymore.

"It's okay." He said finally, loosening his grip on hers just a little, "Just don't ever scare me like that again. _Please._"

"Okay." Tori replied, "I wont."

"Promise?" Beck asked.

"Promise." Tori replied though she really wasn't sure if it was a promise she could keep.

* * *

She and Beck stayed in her room for a little while, still holding hands, before anyone actually noticed Tori was awake. As soon as people did though there was a flurry of nurses and loved ones that bombarded her. She smiled, replied to their conversations and made small talk when she could, but her entire being was itching for them all to leave. She just wanted to be alone. She wanted to know if her baby was okay and she didn't want to have to deal with all of this in the mean time. The police came and left, taking her statement and then leaving her be. Beck had told them to leave, that she'd only just woken up and they needed to give her time. But Tori had insisted, she just wanted it all over and done with. She wanted the aftermath of her miraculous return from the brink of death to be done with so she could just rest and wait for news on her baby.

She was extremely tired by the time Andre walked into her room. Beck had left to get a coffee so there was just the two of them. She almost broke down at the sight of him, remembering just how much he'd done for her. She didn't know why, and she knew it was irrational, but the sight of him just reminded her of her baby. It reminded her of everything she'd been through, everything she'd done, to protect her child. Now all of that may have been for nothing and she had to try to keep herself together.

"I'm sorry this happened to you Tori," He said and then sat down in the chair beside her bed, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you more." He grabbed her hand.

She squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. "You shouldn't be sorry Andre, this wasn't your fault. Besides you've already done enough for me."

Andre swallowed hard. "I know I've done a lot for you, but still. I should have been there."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," She replied lifelessly, "Jade was insane, she had a disease, she would've killed you to get to me."

"I suppose you're right." Andre said and then hesitated. He seemed to be debating whether or not he was going to say something and apparently decided to. "I was wondering if you could do something for me then."

"What do you want?" Tori asked her voice dead to her own ears. She knew she owed him, but couldn't he have waited? She'd only just woken up an hour and a half ago. Surely she wasn't supposed to do something for him now.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, especially since you still don't know if your baby is going to be okay but," He paused and swallowed hard, "But I was wondering if you'd go see Cat."

"What?" Tori exclaimed and looked at Andre as if he was crazy. Is he really being serious right now? She had just woken up from the brink of death, was waiting to find out if her baby had been so lucky, and he wanted her to go and visit one of the people who helped get her to this point?

Andre sighed. "I know I'm asking a lot from you Tori but -"

"So don't ask it." She cut him off, her voice deadly serious, "Don't ask me to have anything to do with that bitch. She knew what she was doing, she knew she was helping Jade murder me _and she did not care. _You shouldn't ask me to start caring about her now."_  
_

Andre sighed,"Look I know she hurt you, and that she isn't innocent in any of this, but she's a victim in this too okay? Jade played mind games with her, manipulated her and led her on. And from what I can tell, Cat was never that stable in the first place. I've always known she's had problems, in fact she's told me some pretty messed up shit, but now its worse. Now she has nobody, not even herself." Andre sighed as Tori's expression showed no sign of giving in. "I'm not asking you to forgive her completely, I would never ask something like that. All I want you to do is talk to her, maybe if she knows you're reaching out she'll try too."

Tori couldn't believe what he was asking. Why couldn't he just leave her be? Let her wallow in her misery and worry instead of asking her to help the nutcase that used to be her friend. She was tired, her whole body was sluggish, her limbs hurt, her shoulder was one big mass of pain and her head was throbbing. She'd just woken up from three days of unconsciousness and now he was asking her to go and help one of the girls who had been an accomplice in most of Jade's plans? Tori had never felt so angry in her life.

"And why should I help her?" Tori asked letting her anger get the better of her, "She wasn't helping me when Jade had me locked up and was beating me to a pulp! In fact, she was the one who led me there! Why the hell should I help her?"

"Don't help her." Andre said his brown eyes tired. It was then that Tori noticed how old he looked. He did not look like a 16 year old boy anymore. He looked wary and tired and it occurred to Tori for the first time that maybe Andre has been through a lot too.

"Do it to help me, okay?" He asked and sighed, "I've been in there with her almost every day since she's been admitted and nothing I do seems to be working." He paused, "She tried to kill herself yesterday Tori, right after she was told about what happened between you and Jade. She's in bad shape. I know it will be hard for you, that I'm asking a lot, but _please_. Please help me with this, you may be her last chance."

Tori sighed. With Andre looking at her like that, it was hard to say no. Andre had sacrificed everything for her once, had taken her side and believed in her when no one else did, she owed him. Sure he was asking a lot, and sure he probably picked the wrong time to ask, but by the sounds of it he really didn't have any other choice. Tori sighed and felt the anger leave her. She couldn't be mad at Andre for asking this of her, couldn't be mad at him for trying to save Cat, it was who he was. He'd saved Tori and been there for her when no one else was and now he was trying to do the same thing for Cat. There was no way Tori could say no now. Besides she and Cat had been friends once and Tori may be mad at her, extremely mad at her, but she didn't want her to die.

"Okay." She said quietly, "I'll do it."

Andre's face flushed with relief, "Thank you." He murmured and Tori just nodded. She felt exhausted. Andre seemed to sense that as his smile turned sheepish. "I'll let you get some rest." He said and then kissed her forehead, "Bye Tori."

"Bye Andre," She said with a smile and he left the room. She closed her eyes, she needed to rest before she went to see Cat.

* * *

Tori sat outside the Cat's room and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this, but it was giving her something to think about other than her baby and the news she was going to get about it this afternoon; so she may as well give it a shot. Besides she knew that she should help Cat and she really did want to, so she would. She just wished it wasn't all so hard. She knew helping Cat would be exhausting and Tori was already so damn tired. She was tired of putting other before herself, she was tired of picking up the pieces left behind by the monster that Jade West had been. But she had to, because there was no one else to do it. No one else who could. Tori steeled herself and nodded to the nurse who rolled Tori into Cat's room. She hoped she'd be out of this stupid wheel chair soon, she thought absently.

"Cat?" Tori asked as the door closed behind her and the nurse left the room. The nurse had placed Tori by Cat's bed, though not close enough to touch her. Cat looked terrible. Her hair was tangled and she was hooked up to a heart monitor, her wrists and ankles were also tethered to her bed. Her eyes became wide when she saw Tori, her heart rate sped up drastically and she started to scream.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry its been so long since my last update. I tried uploading this earlier but because I noticed a major plot hole I had to take it down and basically rewrite the whole chapter. I was going to re-upload this when some health problems prevented me from doing so, but I'm fine now so I'll try to have the rest of the story posted soon. Again I'm very sorry for the delay. _


	26. Miracle

"Cat!" Tori yelled, but Cat kept screaming. What the hell? Why was Cat screaming? Was she really afraid of Tori right now? Did she really think Tori would hurt her? Did she really think Tori could? Tori wasn't exactly threatening right now, as bruised and bandaged as she was. Not to mention the fact that the hospital had insisted Tori be put in this stupid wheelchair. Which meant that she needed someone to push her around all the time because of her shoulder. "Cat! It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Tori held up her uninjured hand and Cat cut off her screaming. There were tears in her eyes and her erratic breathing was only just beginning to slow. "Cat I only came to see how you were doing."

"Why?" Cat asked and her brown eyes were colder than Tori had ever seen them. Images of her bubbly red-headed friend burst through Tori's mind and Tori was pummelled with the startling revelation that this was not her. This was not the Cat she had once known, but some strange imposter sitting in her place. Or perhaps the Cat she had known was the imposter, Tori thought suddenly. Maybe that Cat had all been an act and this was the true Cat always lying somewhere out of reach.

"I don't know." Tori replied forcing her voice to work. She was still angry, very angry. Even though what Jade did wasn't Cat's fault, at least not this time, it still didn't help Tori. It didn't change anything and Tori had the sudden urge to yell. She wanted to yell at Cat, to tell Cat what she really thought of her, but she couldn't. Because Andre would never forgive her if she did. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"

"Who told you about that? Was it Andre?" She asked her voice full of outrage.

Since when did Cat have a right to be outraged? Tori thought bitterly and sighed, "Don't blame Andre. I was going to find out eventually. But you should be thankful that he took such an interest in you, by the sounds of it not many people do anymore."

Cat looked away, choosing to ignore Tori. "Okay, I get it now. Andre asked you to come and talk to me so you did. You can leave now Tori, your good samaritan act is done."

"Is that what you think this is?" Tori almost shouted in her anger. "I'm here because I want to help you! Yes I'm still pissed at you, but _you helped Jade try to kill me_. Okay? That's not something that's easy to forgive, but I'm willing to try."

"Why?" Cat asked again. Tori was really getting sick of that question.

"Because I believe you're worth it." Tori replied truthfully, surprising herself. "I believe you can be saved, that you didn't mean what you did and that you made a mistake." She paused, "I believe that you were broken and damaged and the allure of someone to love you and take care of you was impossible to resist. Yes you made some mistakes, mistakes that we'll both have to live with for the rest of our lives, but I don't believe that means you should die."

Cat looked surprised, she remained quiet this time.

"I believe that you don't deserve to die." Tori continued into the silence. "It wont be easy, but you have to try. You can't give up on yourself okay? You're worth more than that, you always have been."

And it was just like that. Just like that Cat's eyes showed emotion as tears pooled in them and spilled over the sides of her careful façade. For the first time ever Tori was sure she was seeing the real Cat, a scared and broken girl who just needed someone to care for her. Who needed someone to tell her that she was worth it and make her believe in herself, believe that everything was going to be okay.

"It's okay." Tori cooed in silent whispers and let Cat cry. She couldn't comfort the other girl because of her awkward immobile position on her wheelchair, but she wasn't sure she would have anyway. She felt bad for Cat and she wished she could forgive her, she really did. But Tori knew deep down that she was along way from forgiving. So this was all she could give, for now, and it would have to be enough.

* * *

Tori was lying back in her bed that afternoon, with Beck beside her, when the doctor came into talk to them. He was taking them down for an ultrasound and the look on his face made Tori worry even more. He was carrying a clipboard in his hand and Tori gripped Beck's hand tighter to stop herself from leaping up and snatching it from his hands. She was placed carefully into her wheelchair and wheeled down to the room she was in last time. It felt like months ago that she was in here last, but it was only a matter of weeks. They must be getting sick of seeing her by now, and to be honest she was getting sick of seeing them. She got lifted onto the table and a pillow was placed behind her head.

A funny thing seems to happen when you're waiting for something desperately. Its like time gets suspended. Mere minutes feel like hours and the more you want something the more it seems to evade you, the more the time seems to slow. The minutes stretched on and it felt like everything was in slow motion. With every second Tori grew more and more anxious, her body became more taut. She gripped Beck's hand tighter and her heart rate increased significantly as the wand was pressed to her stomach. Beck returned the gesture and she knew he was anxious too. This was their child, their future, and it all hung in the balance. There was nothing they could do now though but wait. So they waited... and they waited.

And waited.

Nothing. Tori's mind went into a flurry of thoughts and her body became cold and numb. Why wasn't there anything? Where was the heartbeat, the small fluttering heartbeat that told Tori everything was going to be okay. Her baby's small frame was unmoving on the monitor and Tori's heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. This was by far the worst moment of her life, the worst feeling she'd ever felt, and considering everything she'd been through that was saying a lot. The doctor's eyebrow's furrowed as she looked to him desperately. "Hmmm." He said and typed something into the computer. Tori felt like she was going to scream with every click of that stupid keyboard.

She turned her face towards Beck's to see that his eyes were glued desperately to the screen in front of him. His brown eyes were sad and filled with tears and Tori had to look away. She couldn't see his anguish as well as feel her own. The minutes stretched on before her as she waited but nothing broke the silence expect for more sounds of the keyboard clacking. Tori vaguely felt it was the wand was waved over her stomach again, moving from place to place almost frantically. She felt like she should be crying but found that no tears would come. Her eyes were dry and there was a huge lump in her throat. That was it, it was over. Her world was gone leaving her with a void that not even Beck could fill. She doubted anything would ever be able to fill it again.

She kept her eyes on the ceiling as the bleakness of her existence overwhelmed her and a new hatred for Jade West piled up inside of her. If it wasn't for Jade she wouldn't be here right now, if it wasn't for Jade she'd be happy. How could Jade ruin her life when she wasn't even in the land of the living anymore? Tori had no idea how much time was flying by, her sense of time was warped. Each second felt like a minute and each minute felt like a lifetime.

She was just about ready to give up. She knew by doing so she was going to break her promise to Beck, but she couldn't help it. Her world was shattered, her baby was dead, there wasn't much room in Tori's life for promise keeping after that. She was on the verge of falling into the pit of darkness she could feel overtaking her, but she found she couldn't quite fall.

Something was bursting through her recent state of hopelessness, something she needed more than life itself. The sound that she would never forget breaking through the bleak sorrow that had taken over her. A small fluttering heartbeat that brought her back to the real world.

Her eyes rested on her doctor's. Her body was filled with disbelief and she clung to Beck's hand willing this to be real and not a figment of her imagination. Her doctor smiled, "It's a miracle. Your baby seems to be fine. Of course it's not out of the woods yet, and there are still many more months to this pregnancy, but it's alive and from what I can tell it's healthy. It shouldn't be, but it is." His smile grew wider, "A true miracle."

Relief and happiness filled Tori in a wave so violent it consumed her, but in a good way. This was what she'd wanted, this was everything she'd fought for. Besides, she was owed a few miracles after everything she'd been through. She looked to Beck. He was smiling and he made a loud yelling noise of happiness. The sound lifted Tori's soul and made her heart skip a beat. She was going to be okay, her baby was going to be okay, for the first time in a long time it felt like everything was falling into place. She had never been so happy in her life. Beck wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her forehead, still being careful with her even though Tori knew he wanted nothing more than to spin her around in his arms and kiss her. He was laughing and slowly she started laughing too. It was infectious and it made her feel free, the sorrow inside her dissipated. Apparently keeping her promise was going to be easier than she thought.


	27. Home

_Six months later.._

Tori liked the smell of her own home. It was something that she only hoped she'd get used to. After a lengthy trial the compensation payout from Jade's family had been enormous, enough to make Tori a teenage millionaire. She now had two million dollars extra to her name and she wasn't going to waste it. She was going to use it for her family, for her baby. She'd bought a house just close enough to the city so she could still be close to her parents and Beck could still go to Hollywood Arts. They'd moved in together a week after Tori had been let out of hospital but had only bought and moved into this place last month. Beck had been going to give up his schooling to support Tori and the baby but now, because of Jade of all people, he didn't have to. Now they could live in peace together and Beck could still go after his dreams. Tori was happy that he was able to do what he loved instead of something that he was forced into that paid a good wage.

Tori, however, was perfectly fine where she was raising little Valerie Oliver. She and Beck had decided to name their baby Valerie because Valerie means 'strong and healthy' in Latin, where the name originated from, and if there was one thing their little girl was it was strong. She'd been though so much, had still surprised Tori's whirlwind of a pregnancy, even though all the doctors say she shouldn't have, and made it through the birth with no visible defects. Tori had also agreed to give Valerie 'Oliver' as a last name because it made more sense than having to change it around after Tori and Beck had their wedding. They're going to aim for a nice spring wedding. Tori wants to have the wedding outside among the plush nature and the soft natural light of the setting sun. It's probably a cheesy wish but Tori deemed she's aloud to be cheesy and romantic on her wedding day. Tori went to sit on the couch as the memory of Beck's proposal made its way into her head.

He'd proposed to her the night before the court hearing. He'd set up a romantic dinner for them on the school's outdoor stage. It had all of her favourite foods, from both before and during pregnancy, and a stereo hooked up to an iPod loaded with all the mushy love songs Beck knew Tori loved. She remembered the way the set up had taken her breath away. The way the table cloth was long and draped so the table looked like it was floating on air, the way the fairy lights were wrapped around the foundations leading up to the roof above them, looking every bit like the pillars of hope she'd clung to so many times in the past. She remembered the way Beck looked at her with nothing but love and the dazzling white of his smile. She remembered the way he spoke to her, every word etching into her soul like a tattoo she never wanted to get rid of.

"Tori," He said nervously drawing her attention, "I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me."

"Beck -" She began with a smile but he cut her off.

"No, let me finish. Please." He added on the last part nervously and cleared his throat, "I know you've been put through Hell these past few months and I know that I haven't always been there for you, but for that I am sorry."

"You didn't know -" She began again and he laughed slightly before cutting her off again.

"Tori. Please? I'm trying to get this out here." He was smiling and she grinned at him sheepishly, blushing a little before waving him on to continue.

"I've seen you go through things these past few months that would've made anyone else crumble. But you've fought, you've always fought for our baby and those close to you. You've fought so hard, even when you thought you were going to lose, and you came out on top." He cleared his throat again, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're pretty incredible Tori Vega. You fight for what you love and what you believe in, you never give up and you do things to help people that don't always deserve it." He paused, seeming to grope for the right words. Eventually he sighed and Tori just looked on in wonder. Since when was Beck Oliver ever nervous?

"You know how your locker says make it shine?" He asked and Tori nodded silently. Her reluctance to speak made him smile at her slightly before continuing. "Well you make everything shine Tori. You light up each room you walk into and you seem to make every life you touch happier, even if it's only slightly. You're like pure gold. You're something that everyone searches for, but few can ever find, and I want to spend every moment I have cherishing you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, watching you shine."

She was crying by this point. Only slightly, but still. She was crying and she didn't even care, nor was she trying to blame it on her pregnancy hormones. Beck smiled at her before he picked up his guitar. "I love it when you sing to me, so I wanted to do this for you." He mumbled shyly and then he started to strum his guitar. He'd always been shy when it came to his music so Tori was blown away by the gesture.

She would never forget that song. Never forget the way he played for her and sang to her, the song she'd never realised she'd been missing until that moment. It was like Beck completed her in ways she had never even thought of, and in ways she never wanted to lose. He made her a better version of herself and she knew right then and there that she never wanted to give that up. When he finished the song and pulled out a small velvet box, she realised she would never have to.

"I love you Tori Vega and I always will. Will you marry me?"

She hadn't hesitated, she hadn't needed to. She knew even before Beck asked that she was going to spend the rest of her life with him. So she just said, "I thought you'd never ask." And that was that. They laughed and danced and ate until the world sank away around them. In that moment Tori hadn't been worried about her court hearing or her upcoming birth, she knew everything would be okay as long as she had Beck. As long as they were together, nothing could touch them; she would make sure of it.

* * *

Tori smiled at the memory and clutched little Valerie closer to herself. Valerie was sleeping, her long black eyelashes forming little crescents on her little cheeks. She was the perfect mixture of Tori and Beck. She had Tori's eyes and lips but she had Beck's olive skin tone and black hair. Something told Tori that as soon as it got past the thinned out baby stage it would be light and fluffy like his hair too. Tori smiled. She never thought she'd actually be imagining what her child would look like in the future while she held her in her arms. She'd always hoped, but some part of Tori was always in doubt. But not anymore. Her baby was healthy and that made Tori happier than she'd ever been before.

Tori knew that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for everyone though. Cat was long out of the hospital psych ward and was now living in the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California. Andre goes up to visit Cat most weekends, or at least the ones where he can leave his grandmother, and from what he's told her Cat is doing well. She's working through her issues and is on her way to being okay again. Tori hasn't been up to visit her yet but will make her way up when Valerie gets a little older.

Everyone, though not everyone is there yet, seems to be on their way to being happy. Trina found love in Robbie, though no one saw that coming, and he finally feels secure enough within himself to stop using Rex to speak for him. Cat and Andre seem to have something going on although when Tori asks about it Andre just tells her that they're friends, maybe one day they might be more, but for now friendship is suiting them both fine. Tori just hoped they were happy. After everything that had happened she just wanted them to reach some form of happiness, they deserved it.

When they'd first moved in here Tori and Beck had thrown a house-warming party and had invited everyone along. Beck's parents had been there (thrilled that they were going to become grandparents) and so were Tori's parents. They were bonding quite nicely and seemed to be perfectly okay with becoming related through the two of them. Robbie, Trina and Andre had been there as well. In fact Cat had only been the only person who didn't come, but that was only because she didn't have a visiting permit from her hospital yet. It was at that party that Beck and Tori had named Valerie's Godparents. They'd named Andre Valerie's Godfather, it only seemed right after everything that he'd been through to protect her, and he'd been thrilled. So thrilled that he spent the rest of the night quoting lines from 'The Godfather'. Trina had also been thrilled when they'd named her Valerie's Godmother, though not thrilled enough to start quoting movie references. Even though they'd been happy and honoured to receive their future duties as Godparents, Tori wasn't planning on them living up to those duties anytime soon. Not when she'd just got her family together, not when she'd started to feel happy again.

She knew deep down that it may not always stay that way, that she and her family may not always be happy, but that was just how life worked. Happiness was something you had to fight for most of the time, and it was the bad parts of life that made you appreciate the good. So yes this was going to be a work in progress, it would be until they died, but this time was theirs. It was their time to be happy, for however long it lasted.

* * *

_Fin._

* * *

_A/N: So that's it! The story is over. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed and read this story, and those of you who continue to do so even after this story is finished. Especially livinthelife321 who sent me various PM's and helped me keep motivated to continue this story. :D_

_I was also thinking about doing a story from Cat's point of view focusing in on her time in the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California. I would like to know if you guys would be interested in something like that ? ;)_

_Thanks again for reading this story, I hope this last chapter was satisfactory and that it concluded enough for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions :) . _


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